Consider the adjacent chart. Where do you land on it? Are you,

• full of purpose but low on vitality?
• low on both?
• full of vitality but low on purpose?

Why is it important to have both? Because being full of purpose with little vitality is like having a roadmap for a vacation, but no gasoline to fuel the car. Being full of vitality with little purpose is like having plenty of gasoline but no idea how to get to your destination.

Generally speaking, we should all be striving to improve both our vitality and sense of purpose. Our lives will work out best if we pursue them continuously and mindfully. Perhaps the most important takeaway is that as you increase your vitality and sense of purpose, you decrease your perception of life's challenges.

For example, if you have no vitality and no sense of purpose, simply attending to routine life-maintenance chores can seem overwhelming. You have no reason to do anything and no energy to do it with. On the other hand, if you are full of vitality and know precisely what you want to do with your life, you will see routine chores as very minor obstacles, worth doing because you are enthusiastically carrying out your purpose.

Improving Your Vitality and Sense of Purpose

There are both mental and physical vitalities. You can think of mental vitality as cognitive and emotional vigor. And physical vitality as feeling healthy, capable, and energetic.

Each affects the other. It goes without saying that exercise and physical fitness support your sense of well-being. But what about the other side of the coin? Does mental vitality support your physical health and energy? According to this article, How Does Mental Health Affect Physical Health, poor mental health is linked to many chronic illnesses, including diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. Severe mental health problems can also reduce your longevity by as much as 25 years.

Finding Your Purpose In Life:

Ask yourself,

• What am I good at?
• What do I love to do?
• What can I be paid for?
• What does the world need? (Who can I help? How can I help?)

Download this Ikigai Worksheet. Then enter your answers to these questions to find your Ikigai.

How then can we improve our sense of purpose and vitality? Actually, that is what the coaching process described on this website is all about. All of the life-improving themes described here: Growth and Transformation Model will support improving your purpose and vitality. Or both!

And that will reduce your perception of the challenges that remain!