“Man’s ideal state is realized when he has fulfilled the purpose for which he is born. And what is it that reason demands of him? Something very easy—that he live in accordance with his own nature.” ~ Seneca from Letters from a Stoic
Marcus Aurelius, another Stoic Philosopher (and Roman Emperor a hundred years after Seneca), said something very similar in his classic “Meditations” (see Notes): “Everything - a horse, a vine - is created for some duty... For what task, then, were you yourself created? A man’s true delight is to do the things he was made for.”
Abraham Maslow says: “Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. What human beings can be, they must be. They must be true to their own nature. This need we may call self-actualization... It refers to man’s desire for self-fulfilment, namely to the tendency for him to become actually in what he is potentially: to become everything one is capable of becoming.”
And Martin Seligman, the leader of the Positive Psychology movement and author of “Authentic Happiness” (see Notes), tells us that we’ll live a happy life when we discover and consistently use our “signature strengths.” (If you haven’t taken his strengths assessment test yet, I HIGHLY recommend you join the nearly 1 million people who have at AuthenticHappiness.com.)
So, for what were YOU made? For what purpose were you born?
Do you know? If so, are you living it? If not, is your primary purpose to FIGURE OUT your purpose? (Please say, “Yes!” :)
We ALL have a purpose, a dharma, a call-it-what-you-want-but-we’re-here-to-fulfill-it! So, let’s get on that!
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PhilosophersNotes on Letters from a Stoic by Seneca | |||||
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