Purpose (glossary entry)

Most of these pages use the word purpose to refer to the most global or all-encompassing purpose behind any specific purpose. So if the word appears without clarification it is just as likely to mean one's purpose in life rather than the purpose of the task or activity.

The frequently-mentioned concept of higher purpose refers to purposes that are pursued by a greater number of people, or which extend over a longer period of one's life. In the extreme, a purpose is an end in and of itself that will be served by future generations even after all of those now living have died.

Many people distinguish purpose from mission out of respect for religious principles. This distinction is evident in the widely held belief:

I may not know for what purpose I was put in this world. but I can adopt a mission and pledge to serve it throughout my life.

A purpose (or mission) of one kind or another is the ultimate object of each of the other intermediate steps (task, goal, project, etc.) discussed on the success and priorities pages.

The MCV02 article discusses the (often life-long) process of finding or defining a purpose (or mission) for an individual person.

This page was written in the "embarrassingly readable" markup language RHTF, and was last updated on 2011 Sep 07.

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