Let’s talk about purpose
How can we help each other pursue our visions for a better world?
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In a recent Hidden Brain episode, host Shankar Vedantam told the story of Jean-Charles: an entrepreneur who had a highly successful exit from his fintech business and had more money than he needed. Yet he soon realized he had lost his connection to the purpose his business had given him.
That entrepreneur was not alone. As I prepare to be dragged into the latter half of my forties, I hear peers talking more about this quest for purpose.
Psychological research bears out this increasing focus. Many of us dedicate the earlier part of our career to achieving and advancing. As Arthur Brooks has described, in the latter half of our career, many of us shift more toward giving back and supporting younger generations.
We may be wired for this giving back.
For those of us seeking purpose at this age, and all ages, how can we help each other?
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Let’s talk about purpose
Most of us have seen people take a variety of pathways to purpose.
We have friends, family members, and acquaintances uniquely ready to share their journeys to help us with ours. Friends, family members, and mentors connected me with my work at East Boston Social Centers, helped me understand the need for mentoring for foster youth and found what is now Silver Lining Mentoring, encouraged me to work on a book proposal, and help me be a better parent to my children.
Supporters help us advance our Social Centers goals of cultivating community and helping all children enter Kindergarten joyful, thriving, and ready to learn too.
How have friends and family members supported your purpose journey?
We don’t have to wait
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We are always tacking on our journey to purpose. We do not need to wait to ask for help on that journey. A few rules for the road can help us:
- It’s OK not to know the destination. We know people who will help us explore. We are not wasting each other’s time even if we are not ready to take specific actions today. I am grateful to those who keep pushing me on that book proposal I mentioned (which I have not yet finished.) Discussing a vision is part of the journey. (Of course, we need to discern which conversations should wait until we are more ready for action.)
- We can support each other with “Purpose” and “purpose.” Sometimes we need a career or personal pivot (“P”). Other times, we want to increase impact right where we are (“p”). We can find more purpose in both places, with help.
- Be patient with ourselves and with change. When I founded a mentoring organization, I thought I would bring a mentor to every MA foster child within a few years. I learned change takes longer. That is not a reason to give up hope or faith in the work or the organizations doing it. It takes years to help a child graduate ready for a successful future. It took years of activism for MA to have almost-universal health care. It is worth all our time and effort-even for the failures, even when the road is unclear, because collectively our purposeful efforts have brought humanity unimaginably far.
Talk to me if I can help
If your pursuit of purpose might run through social impact work (nonprofit, mission-driven for-profit, government, philanthropy, etc.), perhaps I can help.
I am getting old. I have seen many pathways to purpose. I have spent my career in the nonprofit sector, with a little time consulting in philanthropy, as a fellow in government, and taking out the trash at my father’s pharmacy.
I have worked in organizations, coalitions or boards connected with child welfare, mentoring, social connection, early education, social determinants of health, foster care, immigration, food security, anti-poverty work, research, policy, practice, community work, workforce development, collective impact, housing, tutoring, service learning, early childhood, old age, joy, childcare, teen programming, lived experience, parent leadership, nonprofit networks, scholarship provision, volunteering, social entrepreneurship, scaling, veterans’ support, mental health, public health, faith-based volunteering, diversity, and combinations of these and other elements.
I have been surrounded by caring friends and family members, birth and adopted, who have dedicated themselves to giving me every opportunity to thrive.
I also like to think and talk a lot (too much?) about making a difference.
If my experience and connections might help your purpose journey, I would be honored to help. (I am sure many others feel the same.)
How can we help each other?
Perhaps you can help others on their purpose journey. Maybe you would like help navigating to yours. Maybe both.
If you are feeling stuck in the journey, please talk with someone about it.
If I can help a little bit with your purpose journey, you will be helping me with mine too. If I can help you, please send me a direct message.
Please send me a direct message too if you would like to help our Social Centers journey to purpose.
Follow that purpose, and stay joyful, Eastie!
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Please share, subscribe, and join our movement by emailing me or supporting East Boston Social Centers. Look out each week — here and on LinkedIn — for our posts about boosting joy the only way we can: in community.
Originally published at https://www.linkedin.com.
