Creating a Purpose Statement: Your Compass to a Meaningful Life

By Steve Riccio, Ricco Coaching & Consulting

Last fall, I was fortunate enough to teach a seminar to incoming first-year students titled, “Finding Meaning: An Introspective Examination of Life’s Purpose and Beyond.” Early in the semester, I invited students to create an initial purpose statement they could reflect on by journaling throughout the course of a week. This is an exercise I adapted from Richard Leider, author of the excellent book, Repacking Your Bags. As you can imagine, this was no easy task for eighteen-year olds, most only days removed from leaving the comfort of their childhood homes. Some gave the standard, but elusive “be happy”, a natural response among late teens as well as individuals who are well into their professional careers. Other students listed a goal that they wanted to accomplish as their purpose, not knowing the difference between the two. However, there was one response unlike any other from a student from Seoul, South Korea that I will not forget any time soon. Read more...