Living With And ON Purpose

Forbes

17-05-2025

Team purpose
'Virtuous purpose is worth more than any other person's conditional and unreliable respect. It is rooted in service and sacrifice, not entitlement.'
So writes David French, the New York Times columnist and political commentator. This statement is from a recent op-ed that noted his service as a military reservist who has served overseas.
Many veterans express such thoughts about purpose because the intensity of their experience was never sharper than when they were a cohesive unit going through an extreme situation such as combat. The virtue emerges from working for a greater goal beyond what an individual can achieve.
The challenge becomes, what do we do next? Not long ago, I interviewed sociologist Erin Cech, author of The Trouble with Passion. She argues that purpose is often overemphasized, and as a result, it leaves people disillusioned at work. Cech and many others believe that work itself need not provide purpose. Instead, what you do with the output of work – income, for example – enables purpose, living your life, and taking care of others.
Purpose can evolve. Steve Lopez of the Los Angeles Times, the author of Independence Day, a book about retirement, argues that when it comes to fulfillment, particularly later in life after work, simple things like walking your dog can offer purpose. It focuses on the day and gets one out of the house and into the fresh air.
David French's coupling of the word purpose with 'virtuous' harkens back to our Founding Fathers. As historian Tom Ricks writes in First Principles, 'public virtue' was paramount. Living a life of virtue was a mark of integrity. So much so that some Founders said that if virtue prevailed, there would be no need for a constitutional government because people would do the right thing. Fortunately, more reasoned minds, notably George Washington realized that such aspirations were not feasible. The Constitution therefore created a system of governance rooted in principles of equality and justice. [Shamefully, Black enslaved people were ignored for the next century and more.]
Virtuous purpose, as French writes, is rooted in sacrifice. It ennobles the individual because it serves the common good. Servicemen and women put their time, energy, and often personal safety into keeping the nation safe. Community volunteers at home devote their service to keeping disadvantaged populations, collectively and individually, from despair and disaster.
The purpose is how you define it. For leaders, it becomes the why from which vision and mission spring. So it must be communicated relentlessly. For individuals, it shapes our values. So harkening to the notion of virtue is a good start. Virtue may be as simple as the Golden Rule – 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'
A higher purpose is often used about faith, but that does not mean that serving fellow men is of 'lower purpose' or value—a higher purpose – whether based on religion or community — is living for the greater good.
Reflecting on the nature of purpose is more than just an exercise in philosophy. Delving into the meaning of life for self and others is an exercise in shaping how you want to live. The challenge for each of us is to act purposefully. Now and in the future.