Purpose is the reason something is done or created. It is intention and objective. It is our why…why we get out of bed in the morning, why we choose to do all the things we do, and why we exist. Purpose is what sparks our hearts and ignites our passions. It is what we get genuinely excited about. When fully engaged, purpose allows us to feel our most authentic selves while serving the needs of the world.

It seems so wonderful but often feels elusive. It feels like a search for treasure at the end of the rainbow. Like we must keep seeking for something profound, or waiting for it to reveal itself in all its glory. Many times the idea of finding our purpose seems like a complicated equation with multiple parts that must work out perfectly in order to exist. We keep chasing an idea that it’s out there somewhere, we just need to find it.

But what if it was in us all along? What if we are looking for something that we already know deep inside?

I think we confuse purpose with work, which in turn creates internal conflict and an ongoing search for something we already have. This is because fulfillment is correlated with a sense of purpose in life, and if we’re not feeling fulfilled in our jobs then we have a tendency to believe we’re not fulfilling our purpose. We are inundated with messages that reinforce this belief, especially when looking at snapshots of people’s lives on social media…people who appear to be living their best lives and working their dream jobs. They seem so fulfilled, as if they clearly know what they were created to do with their lives on this Earth. And maybe they have been blessed with an awesome job that aligns with their purpose, but I would argue that our purpose if so much greater. I believe we miss so many amazing and special things in life when we boil our purpose on this planet down to a job (or a position, or title for that matter). I think purpose is so much more.

Now before we go on, please hear me…I am not saying that we shouldn’t dream (big), or chase a profession we’re deeply passionate about, or that we should stay stuck in a dead end job that we dislike. What I am saying is that your purpose on Earth is far more valuable and significant than the job(s) you’ll do for 40-50 years of your life. Your purpose is embedded in your soul as a gift that to uncover and share with the world; your (dream) job should simply be an outward expression of who you are and what you value.

I haven’t always thought this way. In fact, I spent most of the last decade trying to find my purpose in work. I spent years working in jobs that I completely despised or felt no connection to because I believed it was supposed to be my purpose. I jumped from job to job thinking I could harness fulfillment if I simply tried a little harder or waited a little longer. My issue being a belief that there was some perfect, purpose-fulfilling job that would make me feel like I was put on this Earth for a reason. But the fact of the matter is, I already knew what my purpose was and my life (my whole life) is overflowing with opportunities to fulfill it. I was just too busy looking for a box called ‘profession’ or ‘career’ to shove it into. I wanted to turn purpose into something that could be measured by degrees and promotions and status and letters behind my name; but by making it measurable, I was also making it limited. And quite frankly, I am tired of living a limited life. I am ready for abundance.

So if not a job, than what is purpose? Well, over the last couple months, I have started to recognize that purpose is engaging in the things you love and are passionate about regardless of the outcome. As stated, it is your ‘why.’ I have been reminded time and time again, that I feel a deep need for people to know they matter. This is my ‘why.’ It is why I love visiting friends, remembering the lost, helping those in need, and writing cheesy posts. I love telling stories that give people a voice, that fill people with hope, and remind people that they matter. It is totally possible that there is some job out there that feels like it was made just for me, but more importantly, there are people out there that I would never know through my work. My purpose is so much bigger than my employment. At the end of my life, I don’t want to be remembered solely because I was a good social worker…I want people to say that I was a true friend. That I loved and forgave, that I spoke life and truth, and always offered compassion and a helping hand. I want people to be able to say, “When it came to Jennifer, I always knew my life mattered.”

The reality is that it is hard to move away from the work-based purpose mentality. It can be scary to invest in something that has no returns, even if it is something you’re deeply passionate about. I love to write. I recognize that an aspect of my purpose is to write stories of hope, encouragement, and inspiration. Sometimes I don’t write because it’s not my job and my rational brain tells me that I should be investing time in activities that will grow my career (whatever that is at this point). Sometimes I don’t write because I am afraid of what others will say or think, or because I don’t feel qualified. Sometimes I don’t write because I don’t believe that I can be as successful as others with hundreds of likes and thousands of followers. But I am reminded that purpose is so much bigger than this. I am reminded that maybe my purpose in writing is for the one. The one person who needed an encouraging word, or a reason to smile, or a reflective moment to challenge themselves. Maybe my purpose in sharing is for the one person who thinks their story or life doesn’t matter. And I must remind myself that this is more important than any job title. When I think of all the ‘ones’ in this world, I can’t help but believe to my core that our purpose(s) are so much more than what we accomplish in a 40-hour work week.

Oh friend, our purpose in this life is so much more than a job. The challenge is to always dream big, commit to loving the work you do, pursue greatness….but know that you exist for so much more than work. That said, what is your purpose and how will that be expressed this year?