Your Purpose and Relevance

Kenai Fjords National Park, AK - 2012

The Relationship Between Feeling Relevant and Your Purpose in Life.

The personal feeling of relevance is closely intertwined with the actualization of your potential and more specifically, the fulfillment of your purpose in life.

Perhaps, it is most commonly thought of as a sense of pride in oneself, in part as a result of a lifetime of accomplishments, both personal and professional. This is particularly the case when such accomplishments were attained in the service of others.

The need to feel relevant is an integral element of the human experience. It is a desire that knows no boundaries: age, sex, race, language, geography, occupation or vocation.

It is widely experienced and yet it is ultimately quite personal.

The Companions on My Journey: Purpose and Relevance

My career as a Plastic Surgeon unexpectedly came to an end due to colon cancer and other medical problems. Happily, years later, I am cured, healthy and well.

At that time in my life, as I still do, I reflected upon my character… my Who. 

I thought about my purpose in life…my Why. 

I felt then and now, grateful for such a profession…my What, which provided the means to express my purpose. To be of service to so many and improve their condition.

When my career ended, I recognized that my purpose in life, to improve the human condition, had not.

Nor did my very human desire to continue to feel relevant.

So, I had to find another What.

I reflected on my considerable experiences as a mentor and leader of individuals and organizations.

I recognized that I could exercise these skills in a manner that fulfilled my purpose. 

I understood that doing so would continue to provide a means to fulfill a need that would endure well beyond the end of my career.

So it was, that my present, joyful career emerged.

As my consulting/coaching career evolved, I witnessed that the need to feel relevant is a very common desire. Sometimes, it may not be clearly understood or elegantly expressed, but it is very real and ever present.

Why is the need to feel relevant so important?

Because it is inherent to our nature.

Because it is closely related to the degree we desire to fulfill our purpose in life. To the degree that we succeed at actualizing our potential. 

This is particularly true when we serve a benevolent purpose.

How do we succeed at relevance?

Persistent Needs and Sources to Fulfill Them 

There are two sources of personal and professional relevance. The primary source arises from within ourselves. The secondary source is expressed to us by others.

It is beneficial for you to understand this concept with clarity and have a solid balance between these two sources of relevance.

Just as we are the source of our internal relevance, there is also an external source that helps to nourish our purpose.

To experience relevance, to feel it, is a good thing. To be appreciated, valued and feel the expressed gratitude of others are healthy and powerful emotions that reinforce a sense of self-worth and purpose. These are external sources of relevance that bring forth emotions that help fuel the many motivations of our lives.

This feeling of relevance and the need for it, is present throughout our lives. It is apparent in a child who desires attention as well as an adult that appreciates recognition for a wholesome accomplishment.

The need for relevance has a wonderful stubbornness to persist as we are growing up, mature, get wiser… and certainly after the end of our careers.

Relevance…Now And in The Future

My personal experience and that of others, is that this particular need becomes more acute as we begin to anticipate our future End of Career Transition.

This takes the form of the realization that with the End of Career, the feeling of relevance and fulfillment may not be as abundant as it had been in past years. This can creates some concerns.

Certainly, there is also a joy of anticipation for what the future holds and properly so. 

These diverse feelings are distinctive and yet are intertwined.

This is true irrespective of job description, title, profession or vocation.

Prepare Now and Provide for Your Future

There are things that we have known about for years: our character, our purpose and how we choose to express it.

This very personal knowledge seems to lie sometimes dormant as we live our lives expressing it.

Beyond that, it is at times of triumph, tragedy and transition that it is very beneficial to reflect on your principles with deliberate purpose. 

To understand this, to be true to ourselves and apply it to the present circumstances is essential to ongoing success.

It will serve you well to achieve renewal and fulfillment in the next great phase of your life.

Reflect. Reenergize. Renew. _TM   

Updated June 18, 2022

PS: By the way, do you want to learn more about how to prepare yourself and your practice for a fulfilling End of Career Transition and life beyond? I would like to help you. I provide consulting/coaching services that are tailored to your specific needs. Click here to request a complimentary introductory conversation.

Ever Firm

North Shore, Kauai - 2021