PURPOSE – The Engine that drives us?

Mary Oliver wrote,

“One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began,

though the voices around you kept shouting their bad advice–

though the whole house began to tremble

and you felt the old tug at your ankles.

“Mend my life!” each voice cried.

But you didn’t stop.

You knew what you had to do,

though the wind pried with its stiff fingers at the very foundations,

though their melancholy was terrible.

It was already late enough, and a wild night,

and the road full of fallen branches and stones.

But little by little, as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper into the world,

determined to do the only thing you could do–

determined to save the only life you could save.”

What drives us? What gives us the strength to overcome insurmountable obstacles? What keeps us focused on that track that leads us to our goal?

PURPOSE! Purpose is that driving force that defines a person’s expectations of their goal.

“Purpose is defined as the cognitive awareness in cause and effect linking for achieving a goal. In its most general sense, it is the anticipated result which guides decision making. A purpose serves to change the state of conditions in a given environment to one with a perceived better set of conditions from the previous state.”

Roger Fisher more eloquently said, “Purpose is the fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions.” Hellen Keller said, “Happiness comes from fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

“What is life when all you do is breathe
what is life with no mission
as it lies around and does nothing but explode you”

Purpose is the difference between a sense of accomplishment after a goal is reached and a sense of loss and disorientation because there is nothing more left to do now that the goal is reached.

A purpose is a set of ideals; it defines the why and the intent for setting a goal. As such, it can be said, achieving a goal is only a subset in fulfilling the Purpose.

The concept of purpose is similar to that of Teleology, the idea that a final goal is implicit in all living organisms. Aristotle and Plato’s philosophies followed a depiction of a Teleological cosmos in which all things had a final purpose, namely, to realise their implicit perfection. For example, they considered an eye as explicable as being “in order to see.” Teleology says purpose is the fulfilling of some aim from within.

Although Teleology deals with the primary and larger purpose of life, we must realise that every action by itself is defined and driven by a purpose and that is why it is so important to bear in mind, clearly, what the purpose of any action is.

What is a goal then? To most, a goal is a specific destination or objective, whose progress can be measured by quantifiable parameters. Some examples of goals can be “I wan to join the Army”, “I want to win the athletic championship” or “I want to climb Mount Everest.” Setting these goals are essential as they form the vital pieces of the puzzle that is our Purpose. The Purpose is the answer, the very final answer, when the intention of setting a goal is questioned again and again. Paradoxically, a goal can never be set until the Purpose is defined!

It is very important to set goals. Our minds, vast and complex as they are, cannot always fathom ways to fulfil a purpose. Setting goals is our way of understanding the larger picture by breaking it down to more quantifiable and hence, measurable units. Just to take an example, the goal of “I want to join he Army” may yield, after repeated introspection, an answer “I want to serve my country.” As can be imagined, it is extremely difficult to progress along the path of such an abstract purpose, “I want to serve my country”, unless it is broken down to more specific goals such as “I want to join the Army” or “I want to be a civil servant.”

Now, why are these concepts important to a martial artist? A martial artist can be distinguished from other people though the possession of a heightened sense of awareness, a control over their actions and also a responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Hence defining the purpose of their actions are all the more important.

To illustrate, when a martial artist comes across a hapless person being harasses by a group of gangsters, how must they react? This is where the proper defining of a purpose is of the utmost importance. Should the martial artist protect the victim or fight and beat the gangsters? One may argue that there is no difference, that both would accomplish the same objective. Although it is a fine line separating the two purposes, they make a world of difference. It is the difference between focusing one’s energies to protect the victim, and to defeat all the gangsters. Perhaps knocking one gangster out may have served to intimidate and deter the rest of them. But if the martial artist has chosen their purpose as one to defeat all the gangsters, they would do so. That the victim needs help would not cross their mind.

On the other hand, if the martial artist’s purpose was to protect the victim, their goal would have been to drive away the gangsters as early as possible, and immediately tend to the victim.

Here we see the paradigm difference a simple defining of a purpose can make!

I now leave you to ponder on this matter; let the wisdom of Albus Dumbledore guide you, “It is our choices that define what we are.”

“Some people might say life sucks
or life is full of shit
While other people say life is beautiful
or life is full of surprises
I must say, I agree with all those
Life is whatever you think of it and everything you think of it
Life is what you make it of it and what you say of it.”