Big Idea Daily | Noble Purpose
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The Joy of Living a Meaningful Lifeby William Damon |
“One needs something to believe in, something for which one can have whole-hearted enthusiasm. One needs to feel that one’s life has meaning, that one is needed in the world."HANNAH SENESH |
BIG IDEA
Noble Vs. Heroic: Let’s Define A Noble Purpose
FROM THE BOOK“Noble does not always mean ‘heroic,’ if we take ‘heroic’ to mean pursuing daring, life-endangering adventures, like the mythical knights who fought dragons in days of yore.
Noble purpose can mean this, and our history books are full of dramatic accounts of courageous acts that saved the day. But noble purpose also may be found in the day-to-day fabric of ordinary existence. A mother caring for her child, a teacher instructing students, a doctor healing patients, a citizen campaigning for a candidate for the sake of improving society—all are pursuing noble purposes. So, too, are the legions of people who dedicate time, care, effort, and worldly goods to charity, to their friends and family, to their communities, and to God.”
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Brian's Notes
Let’s start by making it clear that “noble” doesn’t necessarily mean the “heroic” idea of mythical knights battling mythical dragons.
Those types of courageous acts are awesome and can, of course, be both noble and heroic. But we don’t need to go off on that mythical journey to engage in deeply noble purposes—our day-to-day lives provide all the opportunities we need.
Alexandra makes this point in Mommahood 101 where she describes being a mom as “Holy Work.” Committing a huge chunk of your life to raising a healthy, vibrant, flourishing child is a noble purpose.
As Damon says: “A noble purpose also may be found in the day-to-day fabric of ordinary existence. A mother caring for her child, a teacher instructing students, a doctor healing patients, a citizen campaigning for a candidate for the sake of improving society—all are pursuing noble purposes. So, too, are the legions of people who dedicate time, care, effort, and worldly goods to charity, to their friends and family, to their communities, and to God.”
How does it show up for YOU in your life?!
btw: William tells us that purpose is scientifically defined like this: “Purpose is a stable and generalized intention to accomplish something both meaningful to the self and of consequence to the world beyond the self.”
While Angela Duckworth puts it this way: “In my ‘grit lexicon,’ therefore, purpose means ‘the intention to contribute to the well-being of others.’”
Big Ideas
01: NOBLE VS. HEROIC
02: ULTIMATE PURPOSE FORMULA
03: CULTIVATING NOBLE PURPOSE
04: “SIC TRANSIT GLORIA”
05: TRUE HAPPINESS
“Have a purpose in life, and throw yourself into your work with all the strength of mind and muscle as God has given."THOMAS CARLYLE |
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