In the NBA, the commentators on TNT often mention “The Others”. They are referring to the other players on the team that are not the superstar player. The Others have to step up in order to go from a good team to a great team.

Yesterday the Trailblazers won and their star player didn’t have a great game at all. Kenny Smith mentioned that The Others pulled him from the hole he was in and that’s how they won.

Let’s say we are on a 4 man basketball team and our players names are Health, Wealth, Love, and Purpose. Every now and then one will have a terrible game, sometimes more than one of them at once. I think the player that can always have a good game and pull the team out of the hole at any given time is Purpose.

When you’re looking at a friend who’s in a bad rut you say things like, “At least he’s got his health,” or “At least he’s got some money,” or “At least he has his wife still.” It’s rare that purpose is mentioned and I think it’s because it’s rare that people even think about it.

What is it? Google definition:

noun
1. the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

verb
1. have as one’s intention or objective.

It’s often easier to define purpose for ourselves by what we don’t want. We have job so that we are’t homeless. We have a girlfriend because we don’t want to be single. But this can only take us so far.

When your using a map app, you have to tell it exactly where to go. Knowing what neighborhoods you don’t like is not enough.

Sure there are levels to this. Everyday we have big and little objectives and missions to sort out, but in the grand scheme of things I think an overall life purpose is worth defining for yourself. At least for now because it will change and grow.

I find that my own purpose seems to keep transforming and evolving and sometimes has apparently gone missing, but what is happening is it is refining and re-defining itself with the times, developementally technically culturally socially spiritually anthropologetically etc.

Who knew my 7th grade photography hobby would lead to “blogger”?