If you lack meaning in your life these 3 lessons from Aristotle will point you back towards purpose
Why is purpose so hard to find in the modern world?
The modern world is filled with luxuries and conveniences but people are short on meaning and purpose.
Too much comfort leads to stagnancy, mediocrity, and settling. People clamour for the next gadget or TV show while attendence in churches and other religious houses decline to new record lows. We live a superficial life defined by what we own.
Ancient Wisdom holds the keys to help us break free from this modern disease.
What is Aristotle’s Advice?
Aristotle is known simply as 'the Philosopher' in Western History.
During his life (384-322BC) he synthesized all previous works of Greek philosophy. He wrote about many topics but his ideas on morality and the good life have much to teach us today. Specifically, Aristotle understood how morality tied directly into purpose and what each individual required to realize thier own.
Rather than present 1 way to live for each person, Aristotle creted a moral framework that allows each individual to live as they see fit while providing deep purpose.
Lesson 1: To act purposefully you must have AIM
To have purpose you must have a direction and a place to move towards
When was the lat time you heard someone talk about the purpose or meaning of life in the modern world? People are too busy to even ask. Without an aim each action of your life seems independent from each other. Nothing strings together and you struggle to move forward.
To live with purpose you MUST HAVE AIM.
Lesson 2: To act purposefully you must UNDERSTAND THE NATURE OF THINGS
It's not enough to simply aim and move, you have to be directed towards the truth of whatever activity you're engaged in.
If you want beauty in your life but aim at the wrong places you'll never find that purpose. For Aristotle it's crucial we understand the world around us and aim directly at the nature of each element and activity. For sports we should aim at character development, not status enriching impules, as one example.
An athlete who lusts for victory lives a meaningless life and its the same for us when we aim away from the nature of the activity we pursue.
Lesson 3: To act purposefully you must engage your INTERNAL MOTIVATION
External motivation might work in the moment but it cannot lead to a meaningful life.
If you chase money, relationships, status, material goods, etc there will never be enough to satisfy your soul. You must aim your life at something that matters deeply to you. If you are internally motivated you will overcome any adversity.
You need desire the journey and process for their own sake since this produces the purpose you crave.
Main Takeaway
If you combine all 3 lessons together you'll forget you ever had a meaning problem.
When you AIM at something you LOVE and align your actions with its NATURE you have the ingredients needed for purpose. It’s this combination that makes you excited for challenges and keeps you on the straight and narrow path towards achievement. In the modern world we don’t aim at what we love, we aim where we’re told and accept the outcomes, and oftentimes we are completely off the mark on understanding what we’re doing.
Aristotle’s advice is simple to understand: all you need is an AIM, an UNDERSTANDING, and INTERNAL DRIVE to ignite your purpose.
How to Apply?
The tricky part is applying this combination in your own life.
Aristotle gives us a clue on how to find purpose when thinking about the role of our bodies. For him, mind, body, and spirit are one. That means bodily motions can affect our spirits and become an important play to AIM when we need to find our purpose today.
I advise my coaching clients to use their bodies to find meaning following Aristotle’s advice.
I first start by finding LOVE OF MOTION to ignite their INTERNAL DRIVE. Then I AIM them towards the values they wish to live by. This shows them how to overcome adversity and keep moving forward realizing their purpose through action.
You’ve now got the basic ingredients to make meaning in your life.
This is the power of ancient sport wisdom when properly understood and aimed!