Complete Test on Metaphysical Psychology in 2 hours

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Complete Test on Metaphysical Psychology in 2 hours.

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A50-Segment3.pdf

Thomas Francis University • Course A50 • Segment 3

—Douglas R. Kelley, PhD, CH, CSL

Updated: June 24, 2021

Upon Completion of this Segment, You Will Know:

• The difference between the "meaning of life" and our "purpose in life."

• The two saddest words in any language: “If only…”

• Change your mind; change your life.

• Discovering your purpose and meaning in life.

• Review and update your mission and vision statements.

I can teach anybody how to get what they want out of life. The problem is that I can't find anybody who can tell me what they want.

—Mark Twain

umans have long searched for existential answers to the meaning of life. However, the

question to ask is not so much, "What is the meaning of life?" as it is, "What is the mean-

ing of my life?" Meaning is a very personal thing; it is different for each one of us. Don't

search for the proverbial “meaning of life;” search for the meaning of your life. While the greater

and broader existential questions of life continue to elude us, we can discover the meaning and

purpose of our own lives, and this segment focuses on just that.

We explored reinventing your boundaries in Course G90: Relationships and Healthy Boundaries.

If you took Course G50: The Nature of Metaphysics, you developed a draft of your mission and vi-

sion statements. Hopefully, you have been thinking about your mission and vision as you’ve pro-

gressed through subsequent courses. In this segment, we will focus on discovering and reinventing

your life’s purpose thereby enabling you to find more meaning in your life. Most of the information

in this segment is designed to get you thinking.

By the way, it is entirely possible that you already know your life’s purpose and find much mean-

ing in it. This is perfectly fine. Please consider the following information anyway. You never know

what you might find that could help fine-tune your purpose. If you’re not quite sure of your life’s

purpose, then using the information in this segment will help you to discover it.

Segment 3: Establishing Your Life’s Purpose through Reinvention

Viktor Frankl, in his book, Man's Search for Meaning, listed three things that add meaning to

one's life: "1) By creating a work or deed; 2) By experiencing something or encountering someone;

and 3) By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering."

Many have found it a long and arduous task in figuring out what they really want to do with their

lives. But this step is critical. The late comedian George Burns said, "We need to find some reason

to get out of bed each morning." John Homer Miller emphasized this when he wrote, “Discover what

you want most of all in this world, and set yourself to work on it." This is the basis for getting the

most out of life; we need to find a good reason/purpose to get out of bed each morning, something

that excites us and adds meaning to our lives.

The late scientist and author, Isaac Asimov epitomized the discovery of our special desire. When

asked what he would do if he only had six months to live, he replied, "Type faster." Now that's a

man who knew what he wanted out of life! Can we do the same? If we were asked the same ques-

tion, how would we reply? We can pursue endless varieties of vocations that demand endless varie-

ties of talents and expertise. We are limited only by our imagination and dreams.

Discovering one's purpose is a highly personal decision that we all must make individually and no

one else has the right to judge us for our choices. Incidentally, if we don't make the choice actively,

the choice will be made for us passively by default. Either way, a choice will be made. Why, we

even have a choice as to whether we will make an active choice with regard to our life's purpose!

Why not resolve right now to pursue your life's ambition?

We can find meaning and fulfillment from many different avenues if we just look. Just as happi-

ness is where we see it, so fulfillment and meaning can be found as well. It all depends on our out-

look and attitude.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE "MEANING OF LIFE" AND OUR "PURPOSE IN LIFE"

We do not want to confuse the "meaning of life" with the "purpose of life." These are two differ-

ent things. The "meaning" of life remains constant, while the "purpose of life" can change. The

"meaning" of our lives is built upon values and beliefs. The "purpose" of life involves what we do day

to day to pursue those values and beliefs. Both the "meaning" and the "purpose" of life add value to

the other, and they are "joined at the hip" so to speak. I love the way one of my students, Stephen

Foster, worded the relationship between the meaning of life and our purpose in life. Stephen, a

very accomplished man who spent many years as a Radiation Health Physicist for the New Hamp-

shire Department of Safety, Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, wrote in his

assignment for this course, “I see the purpose of life as being the action plan for the meaning of

life.” I love it! What a brilliant way to express this connection!

Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, also discerned the correct relationship between meaning and pur-

pose when he stated, "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."

For us to find fulfillment, we must have meaning in our life as well as a purpose that puts that

meaning into action.

For us to find fulfillment, we must have meaning in our life as well as a purpose that puts that

meaning into action.

Segment 3: Establishing Your Life’s Purpose through Reinvention

It is only when we embrace our hearts' desire and combine the meaning of our life with the pur-

pose of our life, that we bring true fulfillment to our life. If we are shackled with a career or job

that we really do not like, then we remain imprisoned in our own self-made hell. As long as we do

this, we will find little enjoyment and fulfillment in life. If you are not happy with your current em-

ployment, then you owe it to yourself to pursue your most treasured desire. Life is too short and

too long to spend it doing something that we don't like, nor is there any reason to indefinitely.

THE TWO SADDEST WORDS IN ANY LANGUAGE: “IF ONLY…”

My late father always said that the two saddest words in any language are, “If only.” I believe he

was right. The "If Only's" can be unsettling and take us to a negative place, for example, "If only I

had raised the children better; if only I had taken a different route home; if only I had told him or

her how I really felt; if only I had seen it coming; if only I had made a different choice…" We can "if

only" ourselves to death.

Maybe some of us are not as prone to the if only’s as others, but we all suffer occasionally from

this mental aberration to one extent or another. The if only's are yet another form of guilt, and

carry serious risks to our mental health. They can also lead to shame if we begin to feel bad about

ourselves instead of something we did. We never live up to our true potential because we perpetu-

ally denigrate ourselves right down to the foundation of our very soul.

So, how do we neutralize the if only’s? One way is by adopting the philosophy that as a rule, all

of us are trying to do our best, with the knowledge, experience and resources that we possess at

the moment. We all wish we could somehow make today’s decisions with tomorrow’s knowledge

and experience, but life just doesn’t work that way. We know this, and yet we cling to this self-

sabotaging behavior. Let’s be reasonable and realistic—we can only do so much.

In all fairness, it may be said that the concept of "If Only" can be used positively. If we use it to

avoid certain known pitfalls down the road, it can be indispensable. For example, my father also

had a little sign on the dashboard of his car that said, "If Only…." He used it to remind himself to

fasten his seatbelt. He never wanted to be in the awful position of saying, “If only I had put my

seatbelt on, I or a passenger would not have been hurt.”

CHANGE YOUR MIND; CHANGE YOUR LIFE

In an effort to get your “brain juices” flowing on the matter of your life’s purpose and meaning,

please read the assigned selected chapters below of the eBook, Change Your Mind; Change Your

Life located on the course page:

1. Open Your Mind to the Possibilities (page 7)

2. Who Are You? (page 19)

3. Rewrite Your Reality (page 26)

Again, this is primarily designed to get you thinking as well as to give you another perspective on

personal reinvention. The exercises at the end of the selected chapters are not required, but you

are free to complete them if you wish. Once you have completed reading and pondering these

chapters, return here to continue with this segment.

Segment 3: Establishing Your Life’s Purpose through Reinvention

Segment 3 Supplemental, eBook Selected Chapters: Change Your Mind; Change Your Life

NOTE: Before proceeding to the next section, please read chapters 1 – 3 of the

eBook above located on the Course Page for a supplemental discussion of this sec-

tion. This eBook is part of the course.

DISCOVERING YOUR PURPOSE AND MEANING IN LIFE

Now that you’ve read the information in the eBook about personal reinvention, let’s discuss how

to go about discovering your purpose and more meaning in life. The first step is to answer a simple

question that may be very difficult: What do I call a good day?

The answer we give to this question is the key that literally unlocks the potential of our life. Our

answer will determine what is closest to our heart, what truly inspires us. If you are having a hard

time answering this question, then try answering some other simple questions:

• What truly inspires me?

• What motivates me?

• What excites me about life?

• What brings me joy?

• How do I define happiness?

• If money was no object, how would I spend my time?

If you are still having a hard time answering these questions, then try ruling things out. For ex-

ample ask yourself:

• What do I call a bad day?

• What does not inspire me?

• What does not motivate me?

• What does not excite me about life?

• What does not bring me joy?

• How do I define unhappiness?

These questions will entail extensive thought. They require you to really know yourself well. It

may take a little time to come up with answers that you feel good about. But once you do answer

the question "What do I call a good day?" you will be well on your way to finding purpose and mean-

ing in your life.

REVIEW AND UPDATE YOUR MISSION AND VISION STATEMENTS

If you took Course G50: The Nature of Metaphysics, then this last section is for you.

Please review the mission and vision statements you wrote back in Course G50, Segment 1. In

the light of the material from the various segments and courses to date, does anything need to be

fine-tuned, refined, or updated? Assuming that your metaphysical career plays a big part in the

Segment 3: Establishing Your Life’s Purpose through Reinvention

meaning you derive from life, do your mission and vision statements truly reflect your metaphysical

purposes and meaning?

If not, keep pondering, thinking, and tweaking until your mission and vision statements accurate-

ly reflect who you are as a human being and metaphysician. Please do no skimp or skip on this. It is

a crucial step to finalize your mission and vision.

Once your mission and vision statements are complete, these will guide you in your metaphysical

career. Review them regularly so you never lose sight of your objectives. Update them as needed so

that they always accurately reflect who you are and where you are going.

And by the way, now that you have your mission and vision statements complete, you have also

most likely figured out what your life’s dream is. Congratulations, that was a big step!