Purpose - A Force For Achievement - AMAZING PEOPLE WORLDWIDE

Purpose - A Force For Achievement

By Dr Charles Margerison
Psychologist

The Importance of Purpose

I have studied over 500 people who are acknowledged in their professions as leaders in medicine, science, literature, business, aviation, engineering and music. They were all high achievers, but with different social backgrounds, aptitudes, intelligence, skills and levels of education. The one thing they had in common was that they discovered a purpose to guide their endeavours.

Exemplars

Thomas Barnardo was a trainee doctor who conducted night school classes for poor children in London during the 1860’s. One of the boys, Jim Jarvis, told him he was living on the streets along with many other boys. Dr Barnardo went with Jarvis to see the appalling conditions. As a result, he decided to establish a home for the boys and later set up similar facilities for young girls. In doing so, he found his major purpose in life. The Barnardo’s organisation that he founded continues to help children in need of care and protection.

Helen Keller suffered a severe illness early in her life that left her deaf and blind. Through the dedicated help of Anne Sullivan, a tutor, she learned to communicate. Although she could not hear or speak, Helen Keller could think; and decided her main purpose in life would be to help people with disabilities. She did so by writing and speaking at international events to inspire others. As a result, she influenced many politicians and health workers to improve the opportunities for disabled people.

Charles Dickens, at a very young age, had to leave school and work in a factory, following his father going to prison for not paying debts. Both experiences shaped his life. Charles became a writer with a social purpose to expose the dreadful conditions, in order to bring about change.

Harriet Tubman was a slave, born in Maryland, USA, about 1822. At the age of 29, she escaped. Instead of staying in a safe place, she returned thirteen times to the fields of slavery to help over 70 others escape. In addition, she worked as a nurse and became a spokesperson for civil rights.

These are four examples of those who found a personal purpose in their lives that inspired them to make extraordinary achievements. Others identified social, artistic, commercial and political purposes. As a result, they were motivated to develop a range of skills and abilities.

For example, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole joined frontline fighters to save lives through nursing. Louis Pasteur and Marie Curie became scientists, searching for cures to illnesses. Abraham Lincoln became a politician and worked to abolish slavery. Gandhi found his major purpose in life by leading India to independence.

Psychological Aspects

Purpose is therefore a major factor influencing achievement. For some people, their major purpose is to provide food and shelter for their family. To do that, the individual may take a job that is of little interest, but helps them care for their family.

Having a purpose, over and above doing a task, helps us understand people’s patterns. For example, a person whose purpose is to become an athlete, and win races, will establish a training pattern.

All of this leads to a set of guidelines for action, to implement your purpose. For the sake of clarity and simplicity, the guidelines all begin with the letter P.

Purpose and Projects – once people discovered an important purpose, they developed application projects.
Plans and Priorities – each project required a well thought out plan, to find the money and people to do the work required.
Persistence – it is notable that the people we celebrate for their achievements, developed patterns of persistence and continued on with their work, despite difficulties and opposition.
Performance – we are all judged on results and amazing people worked hard to achieve high levels of performance.

People, who we regard as amazing, converted their purpose into performance. Their purpose became a guiding light. Finding a meaningful purpose is therefore important for all of us, but especially for young people. In contrast, people without a defining purpose tend to drift.

Purpose is usually discovered rather than taught. However, in totalitarian dictatorships and religious sects, people are conditioned to believe their purpose is to fulfil their leader’s wishes. In democratic societies, the philosophy is that people are free to hear all views and choose those that suit their own lives.

Purpose in Schools

So, where should personal purpose fit in the education of students?

Our approach is to provide students with practical opportunities to learn from the lives of amazing achievers. They all used their time well. In our work at Amazing People Schools, students can choose who they wish to meet, in a virtual sense, from a range of amazing people. They are exemplars of people who demonstrated great strength of character, and their stories and resources on the site support student wellbeing and character education. By investigating the life stories, students gain insights and inspiration. They learn how amazing people used their time well to achieve.

Through discussion and exercises, students are encouraged to apply the principles learned to their own lives. In the process, they learn to understand and develop their own purposes, projects, priorities, patterns of persistence and to improve their level of performance.

These are important ways to facilitate self development and identity. Students enhance their understanding of what they like and dislike by learning from the life stories of amazing people. In doing so, they move closer to choosing purposes that can make their own life more meaningful.

Purpose is therefore an integral part of both character development and wellbeing education in schools.

References

Seligman M – Flourish – Simon Schuster – 2011.
Frankl V – Yes To Life – Ebury Publishing – 2019.
Margerison C J – Amazing Careers – Amazing People Worldwide – 2016.