🍂 The perils of a neatly-defined Purpose
When words get in the way of meaning.
Note: this is An Olde Museletter, from a different time and place: some links may no longer work and some ideas may no longer be ‘as true’.
Read at your own peril.
Read at your own peril.
Having a profound sense of “purpose” has become Quite The Thing now.
You wouldn’t want to leave home without one. It’s now almost essential to have an answer to the question: “What’s your Purpose?” (or “What’s your Why?”).
Hip agencies, startups and solo consultants love this question. So do I, kind of—it’s sometimes quite fascinating to hear the driving intent behind people’s behaviour. And we know that purpose is inherently linked to intrinsic motivation.
But… I’m not sure we need the answer to this question—‘what’s your purpose?’— to be served ‘neat’. In fact, I worry when it is.