Noble Purpose
Details and Description
Description
This book describes the personal and spiritual benefits of living life in a way that matters, with an awareness that one's life can reflect a sense of higher purpose no matter what the circumstances. The book draws upon religious, philosophical, and literary writings to show how humans in many cultures and historical epochs have pursued noble purposes by answering God's call as each hears it.
Noble purpose can be pursued both in heroic acts and in everyday behavior. The book shows how ordinary people—teachers, business professionals, parents, citizens—can ennoble what they do by being mindful of its deepest meaning. It also points out that humility is a necessary virtue for those who pursue a noble purpose. Great heroes are bold, courageous, and sometimes audacious in their determination to succeed; but they are also humble in their awareness of their own limitations. Moreover, a person must never violate basic moral laws while pursuing a noble purpose—the means must be as moral as the ends.
Purpose brings coherence and satisfaction to people's lives, producing joy in good times and resilience in hard times. It also presents a paradox: hard work in service of noble purpose that transcends personal gain is a surer path to happiness than the self-indulgent pursuit of happiness for its own sake. The closer we come to God's purpose for us, the more satisfied our lives become.
From the inspiration and examples conveyed in this book, we learn that all individuals have the capacity to discover their own God-given abilities, to learn the world's need for the services they can provide, and to experience joy in serving society and God in their special ways. As theologian Frederick Buechner writes, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
Table of Contents
Introduction by David G. Myers / ix
Purpose in Everyday Life / 3
Purpose at Work: Discovering Your Calling / 13
Purpose Can Be Found Everywhere / 33
Noble Purpose Requires Humility / 53
The Psychological and Spiritual Significance of Purpose / 65
Cultivating Noble Purpose / 77
Notes / 95
Recommended Readings / 97
Endorsements and Reviews
Reviews
High Desert Advocate—Wendover, NV
"Purpose is a word that is increasingly in vogue; people want to have a purpose, to find a purpose. Now, a new book examines another dimension of purpose: a large-scale commitment that focuses talents, skills, thoughts and energies in an enduring manner. For 20 years, William Damon has written widely on moral development at all ages of human life. In Noble Purpose, The Joy of Living a Meaningful Life, he talks about "finding something that you can truly believe in, something so worth accomplishing that you dedicate yourself to it wholeheartedly, without qualm or self-interest…devoting yourself to a cause, or to many causes that you consider noble purposes."
The Scientific and Medical Network
A fine book by a professor of education at Stanford who has delved deeper than most in his search for ‘noble purpose’, a sense of meaning and fulfillment that comes from dedicating one’s life to something beyond the narrow interests of the self. This is a surer route to happiness than direct cultivation, as the author shows, and yet our consumerist culture would have it otherwise. The final chapter outlines nine principles that can point us in the direction of noble purpose including staying humble and paying attention to the means designed to achieve the end in view. The book is enriched with many inspiring quotations on facing pages.
Science & Theology News
A fine book by a professor of education at Stanford who has delved deeper than most in his search for "noble purpose", a sense of meaning and fulfillment that comes from dedicating one’s life to something beyond the narrow interests of the self. This is a surer route to happiness than direct cultivation, as the author shows, and yet our consumerist culture would have it otherwise. The final chapter outlines nine principles that can point us in the direction of noble purpose including staying humble and paying attention to the means designed to achieve the end in view. The book is enriched with many inspiring quotations on facing pages.
Spirituality & Health
Helen Keller once observed, "Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose." It could be argued that much of the moral confusion and ethical slackness of our time comes not from a lack of purpose but from a focus on bogus or unworthy goals. Many of the Baby Boom generation worked very hard for many years, not because they loved their work or wanted to make a valuable contribution to future generations, but simply because they wanted to retire early and enjoy a long and prosperous life of leisure. That is a purpose but it does not qualify as a noble one.
In this brief volume, William Damon, professor of education and director of the Center on Adolescence at Stanford University, explores the meaning of the quest for a purpose that is really worthwhile. There are chapters on discovering your calling, humility, the psychological and spiritual significance of purpose, and cultivating noble purpose. He concludes with an outline of nine principles that can engender this process. "Finding noble purpose," he writes, "means devoting ourselves to something worth doing and doing it in an honorable manner." It is the last half of the equation that requires character, dedication, and imagination.
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Translations
Spanish (Columbia)