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What would you be willing to pay to
Add 7 years to your life?
Greatly reduce the risk of heart disease?
Reduce the harm of stress and inflammation?
Decrease the possibility of dementia?
Increase wellbeing, energy and life-satisfaction?
Even lose weight and keep it off?
Too good to be true? Some kind of “miracle drug!" you'd say? Worth whatever you’d pay to attain it!?
It exists! And it's attainable. And my guess is you've never heard what's in this post before!
I’m no doctor.. and never played one on TV. But, you have to admit, these significant benefits would be worthwhile! You'd act on them if you could, right?
But this “most missed key” is actually backed by years of clinical tests and research performed by medical sources and resource institutions including Rush University Medical Center, The Association of Pyschological Science, The University College of London, Princeton University The National Academy of Sciences, The Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine…. And many others.
Here’s the missing key: having clear purpose in your life dramatically improves your health and longevity.
Stated in a different way: When you know your “Why” for life it positively affects you not only emotionally, spiritually and vocationally. It also affects you physically!! And you live longer!
What clincal research has recently concluded: having a clear direction in life and setting bigger goals for what you want to achieve can help you live longer, live healthier and avoid bodily disease and decay.
Purpose leads to positive health. Knowing and living your WHY not only creates the healthiest companies (as TED talk famous Simon Sinek has demonstrated) Purpose (knowing your "why") also creates the healthiest people.
Define purpose: I’m talking about study by Stacey M. Schaefer, Jennifer Morozink Boylan, Carien M. van Reekum, Regina C. Lapate, Catherine J. Norris, Carol D. Ryff, Richard J. Davidson
Having purpose in life may motivate reframing stressful situations to deal with them more productively, thereby facilitating recovery from stress and trauma. In turn, enhanced ability to recover from negative events may allow a person to achieve or maintain a feeling of greater purpose in life over time.
Forget seeing health care as mainly seeing doctors when your’re sick…. How might “Purpose Health” be a bigger key to everyone’s life?
Why would't "Purpose Health" be more prominant? Why didn't someone tell you this before?
I think it’s for two reasons.
1. Most didn’t make the connection to the incredible benefits of unlocking purpose. (Until now!!
2. Most don’t have any clear steps or help to intentionally discover and engage their purpose.
Of course, some people can and do find it almost by accident. But, why take that chance?
So, How? How might YOU take action to increase your purpose and your health and longevity?
Here are 5 Steps to Unlock Your Purpose sooner rather than later.
1. Know the Equation to Live With Purpose
Purpose is always outside of yourself, and larger than yourself. But, it starts with what you can uniquely offer to others that can benefit from what you bring.
Purpose includes 3 key ingredients that Richard Leider defines in his equation “G + P + V = P”
Gifts + Passion + Values = Purpose.
Gifts: What do you bring to the table. What can you do that
Passion: What makes your curious, obsessed or care deeply about something.
Values: The things that you believe are important in the way you live and work.
2. Clarify Your Purpose on Purpose
It’s not enough to know you should have a purpose. You’ve got to invest in defining it! And this involves intentionally taking the time write down your gifts, passions and values. Consider where these intersect with real needs around you. Take a stab at writing a purpose statement. Even better, work with a purpose coach trained and/or gifted to help you.
* Note: Purpose is bigger than any one goal or even achievement. It’s big enough to encapsulate many goals or actions.
3. Spend Purpose Time Outdoors
Personally, I find there’s nothing more conducive to seeing purpose as you spend time thinking, reflecting and just being outdoors– (Not surprised are you?)
Seeing the sky, mountains, ocean, grass, trees, stars…. all remind us we’re part of a bigger universe.
Consider doing a purpose mini-retreat out somewhere beautiful!
4. Prioritize Purposeful Relationships
Both the quantity and quality of our relationships unlock meaning and purpose in our lives and build health. They affect mental health, physical health, and mortality risk.
“Sociologists have played a central role in establishing the link between social relationships and health outcomes, identifying explanations for this link, and discovering social variation (e.g., by gender and race) at the population level. Studies show that social relationships have short- and long-term effects on health.” (From Article “Social Relationships and Health”)
5. Grow Purpose by connecting to a Faith Community
Growing personal faith also relates to better health and longevity!
Deepali Bankar Physical Therapist from Stanford Health Care, studied the secret to wellbeing and longevity by interviewing people 100 or older. In her article, The Secret to Well-Being and Longevity," she explained,
“98% of the centenarians that were interviewed belonged to some faith-based community. It didn’t matter what you believed. Research shows that attending some faith-based service four times per month will add up to an extra 14 years of life.”
Ultimatley, your faith community will be those you can talk about ultimate issues with, pray together with and serve together with. They're your tribe who'll be there to celebrate with you or to console you.
Conclusion
Life’s too short not to make it longer! And healthier!
So, what would you think about making discovering AND engaging your purpose possibly the most healthy thing you do for yourself and the world this year?
Most doctors won’t remind you (at least at this point!) But, as you seek and unlock your purpose, you will not just live… but live well!
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