Purpose driven people live longer....

Tuesday, 10-14-2014

In a ShareCare message from the Real Age email on 5 ways to live longer the number one recommendation was to live a purpose driven life.

This not the first time I've seen this.  As we'll see, people who do, have more to live for so they make more of an effort to stay alive.  And, they are also more effective and valued people so their efforts to achieve and stay alive work better.

Here's the key quote from the real age email:

"Want to live longer? Then you better have a really good idea of what you're living for.

In a study of older adults, those who lived a goal-driven life were 57 percent less likely to die during the 5-year study period -- compared with those who didn't have much direction or purpose.

How a Purpose Protects

Are you making plans for the future? Is there something that you're actively trying to achieve? Does your life have meaning? A resounding yes to these questions could mean you get more time on earth to accomplish things.

Having a purpose in life was so helpful in a study that it even appeared to improve the longevity of people with depression, disabilities, chronic medical conditions, or financial difficulties."

1.  It often takes focused effort or extra effort to achieve things or to do the things that keep you healthy and able to work to achieve things.

So, if you want very much to contribute to a purpose you care about and want to help achieve, you make that effort. 

Then you live longer; you overcome your problems well enough to work on the purpose you care about; and you do make at least some of the contributions you want to make.

2.  Long ago the famous management consultant, Peter Drucker, found that the most effective people were those who worked on the achieving the task that would enable them to make a contribution to the highest and best purposes of the group or company they were in.

One nurse he tells of made a whole hospital get almost all its patients get well faster and sooner.  How?  They emulated her focus on contribution.

The way she did it came to be called Nurse Bryan’s rule.  She did all the normal, expected, and assigned things for her patients. But she then asked, “Are we doing all we can for this patient?” 

If she came up with a way to do more that would help that patient feel better or recover better, she then added that on.

Patients she attended  stayed less time and went home sooner; got well more effectively, and had fewer complications than those on other floors.

Soon most nurses in the hospital came to adopt what was called Nurse Bryan’s rule and did as she did.

In business, he gives examples of CEO’s who picked the few areas where they could contribute to the success of the business, and then made that kind of effort to achieve them.

Their companies did well.

By and large that got them respect and support and help from the people in their company too.

That kind of focus on contribution is a skill people can use on their own issues to enable them to keep working on their purpose.

3.  An article I read more recently by James Altucher, focused on how to have a good life you did best if in addition to getting yourself the money you need, you also focused on mastery and meaning.

Having a purpose you care about and work to achieve adds meaning; and in making a special effort to achieve it you often do so by attaining mastery in the skills needed.

4.  How can you find a purpose you care about if you don’t yet have one?

Start with what you are interest in; what you do well  now; what you are curious about; or helping people who have a problem you have had or someone you care about has had.

Ask questions of yourself:  Who has this problem?  How can I use my skill or what I’m finding out to help people who need it or want it?

Then work to make good things happen in that area!