“I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself
And then make a change”

From Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” first released in 1988, and re-released after his death.

Whatever your thoughts and feelings about his life and death, Michael Jackson has left a legacy to the world. Millions of people have been deeply touched by his life, his contribution to music and by what he accomplished. Whether you felt love, anger or complete indifference about him, he will be remembered for making a difference.

This always makes me think about my legacy too. What will I leave behind and will the world be a better place for my contribution?

You don’t need to be famous, in the public eye or have lots of money to make a difference to just one other person or many people, but we are all here to contribute to our world.

The purpose of life is to have a life of purpose. “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” Sir Winston Churchill

We are born, we live and then we die. Each day we wake up and at the end of each day we go back to bed. But what happens in-between? It’s called living, but why do some really live and others just exist?

As Braveheart put it: “Every man dies, not every man truly lives”

Taking Churchill’s quote a little further, one of the six human needs that we all share is that of ‘contribution’. In other words we all have a need to contribute in some way to something or someone in order to feel fulfilled and happy with our life. This need is higher up in our hierarchy of needs, but once all our base needs are met we then turn to our need to contribute to attain a sense of living and purpose in our lives.

But what to contribute? I’m not just talking about giving £10 a month to your chosen charity (if you want to please choose The Autism Directory!), but something more that gives a true sense of passion and purpose in your life. Something that gets you out of bed with excitement and sends you back to bed with satisfaction. For some this is very much aligned with their work, so making a living is very much a part of making a life. Others are not so fortunate and the focus on making a living has overshadowed understanding their purpose in life.

Why is having a life purpose important? Just like any goal we set it gives us direction and focus. But it also gives us a sense of purpose which leads to passion and fulfilment in what we do. Imagine being very clear about what you want to do, about what choices to make, why obstacles need to be overcome and challenges taken on with certainty and belief you will succeed, because you are clear about your outcome.

Having a life purpose also gives a sense of wellbeing and is one of the greatest roads to sustained health I can think of.

How do we find our purpose? It could be a simple acknowledgement or a journey in itself, but it has something to do with what makes you happy and creates joy, what you value, what moves you and how you would like to be remembered.

For most of us having a life purpose is an alien concept, but the realisation that we all have a purpose and finding it creates an unbelievable desire and focus to our lives. Everything we have achieved so far, all the unpleasant things that have happened to us, our life journey to date becomes clear and purposeful.

So if you want to make the world a better place, just take a look at yourself and then make a change.

With love and gratitude

Nadine.