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The Real Purpose of Your Life!

January 12, 2013 by 10 Comments

Actress Amy Poehler recently shared a video called The Real Purpose of Your Life. Now, you gotta watch that one, right?

I did, and to my delight, this short little ditty–narrated by philosopher Alan Watts and produced by Book of Mormon and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone–has a fun but sneakily profound message about the real meaning of happiness.

Watts says that many of us, without even knowing it, buy into this idea:

“Something great is coming! Success is coming!” Just work a little harder and push yourself a little more. You’ll be happy tomorrow when that big thing arrives.

I’ll admit it. I’ve sort of bought into that. There have been times when I believed I needed to keep my eye on the prize and just keep going until tomorrow. I felt I needed to sacrifice my today for a future gain. In limited doses, that’s not a totally bad thing. BUT, and this is the big part for me:

  • Can you focus on your goals for the future without missing today’s joy?
  • Can you chase what’s next and be present to this moment?

I say, yes.

I believe it’s possible to be happy today and pursue tomorrow’s desires. What do you think?  I’d love to know.

Thanks for sharing, Amy Poehler.

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Dr. Darlene Mininni is author of The Emotional Toolkit and creator of UCLA’s undergraduate happiness class LifeSkills. Her work has been featured on CNN, PBS, NPR, WebMD, Marie Claire, SELF and Prevention. She privately coaches women on practical ways to create big changes in their lives.

  • Gerri

    Good stuff Darlene.  Thanks for sharing.  I’m going to share this with my kids.

    • DarleneMininni

      I’d be curious to know what kids think of this video!

  • Rhiannon

    A great reminder of what is important, thanks Amy. Wouldn’t it be great if this video was shown to children/teenagers, a few times, throughout the course of their schooling. Before I had my own children, I was a primary school teacher and I often had discussions around this topic with the children I taught however the challenge is that it is not part of the core curriculum…therefore these types of conversations only happen incidentally and only occurred if the individual deemed them to be important. I hope that one day soon it will become an integral part of what we teach our precious children – the future adults. xo

    • DarleneMininni

      Yes, Rhiannon. Getting this perspective early would reduce a lot of the anxiety I see in college students!

  • Moren

    Beautiful, thanks for sharing.

    • DarleneMininni

      Glad you liked it too, Moren!

  • http://beyouliveyourdream.blogspot.com/ Sarah Noel

    I say yes too!  It’s important to do SOME things with the future in mind (retirement planning is a big one).  But it’s also essential to your general happiness to focus on the present.  Be here now!  Smell the roses. 
    So I say, spend a little bit of time setting yourself up as best you can for the future, and then forget about it and enjoy today!  :)

    Sarah
    http://beyouliveyourdream.blogspot.com/2013/01/get-to-good.html

    • DarleneMininni

      I agree Sarah. Plan for your future, but don’t live there!

  • Imelda

    Interesting video. Yes, we’re are a very result/outcome oriented society that we get so caught on end that we totally forget about the now, the being. Stop and dance once in a while! :)

    • DarleneMininni

      Stop and dance! I like that!