Thoughts: Dedication and Purpose

The other day I was discussing with friends the topic of purpose.  “How do I find my life’s purpose?” was posed as the question that day.  One person responded, “What would you sacrifice your life for?  That’s your purpose.”  I thought about that, and it didn’t seem quite right for me.  Sacrificing your life is a one time event, and can be done with little thought or preparation.  Stepping in front of gun for your child or wife is relatively easy to do on impulse, and it doesn’t really solve the problem that your family is in danger (unless the criminal in the scenario is using a muzzle loader and has only one ball.) I said. “Perhaps a better criteria would be this: What would you crawl your way out of the grave for?  That’s your life’s purpose.”

What in life would you refuse to go to your grave over; that you would fight to stay alive for?  I think that’s a purpose.

A few minutes later I got a laugh out of one friend.  He smiled and said, “Mmmmm, brains, mmmm.”  OK, maybe zombies don’t have a life’s purpose, but in death they seem to have quite the purpose, even if it is eating brains.

I think we can take a lesson from the zombie.  Even death does not stop a zombie from its purpose.  The zombie will literally crawl out of the grave to achieve that purpose.  A coffin (not to mention the oft forgotten burial vault the coffin resides in) and six feet of earth will not stop a zombie.   A shotgun blast to the chest will not stop a zombie.  The zombie keeps moving towards its goal.  How many living people have enough dedication to overcome seeming insurmountable obstacles to achieve their purpose?  Not many.  Yet a zombie does have that dedication.

Furthermore, the zombie is unwavering in its purpose.  The zombie doesn’t worry what people think, or whether its the politically correct thing to do.  The zombie doesn’t worry about failure, or overthink the problem.  The zombie doesn’t talk itself out of its goal by overanalyzing the situation.  The zombie doesn’t count how many people are standing against it, nor how many shotguns and machetes are between it and its goal.  There’s no self-doubt, just pure focus.

The zombie wants what it wants, and goes after it, plain and simple.  Very few living people can say that about themselves.  Maybe it’s time we take a lesson from the zombie.  Define your purpose, and fight for it.  Stay focused, and think only of success.  What would the world be like if more people could do this?

What would you fight your way out of the grave for?