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Jerald Forster
- Do I have a Life’s Purpose?
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Jerald Forster, Professor Emeritus,
College of Education, University of Washington, collaborated
with Bernard Haldane in 1987 to establish the Dependable
Strengths Project at the University of Washington. He,
along with Bernard Haldane, Jean Haldane, and Allen
Boivin-Brown, later developed and implemented 5-day
DSP Workshops designed to prepare professionals to help
others articulate and use their Dependable Strengths.
Jerald was one of the founding members of the Board
of Directors for the Center for Dependable Strengths.
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Most people reflect now and then about their purpose in
life. I have been interested in the articulation of life purposes
for many years. In the 1980s I designed and led workshops
titled: Learning What You Really Want
and Where You’re Going. It was my intent that
people in those workshops would clarify and articulate their
goals, but not necessarily their purpose in life. During those
earlier years, I believed that a life’s
purpose was a broader and larger idea or construct
than was a personal
goal. Also, it seemed to me that a purpose
was more likely to be attributed to a source other than the
individual’s personal choice. A purpose
was more likely to be attributed to a higher being or at least
to the guidelines of religious beliefs. For those reasons,
I stayed away from helping others identify their life’s
purpose, and I also did not attempt to articulate my own life’s
purpose.
As a member of a book club, I recently read Robert Thurman’s
new book, Infinite
Life: Seven Virtues for Living Well. On page
196 Thurman, a Buddhist teacher, writes “The unenlightened
and evil are defined by self-centeredness, whereas the enlightened
and good are defined by other-centeredness.” Since I
strive toward the direction of being enlightened and good,
I reflected about my history of other-centeredness. This reflection
confirmed a clear pattern of teaching, mentoring and helping
others develop their potential. Actually, my Dependable Strengths
Report, developed to summarize and communicate my own strengths,
clearly makes that case. So, I think maybe I am ready to claim
a life’s purpose, that being to
help others develop towards their potential.
More specifically, my favorite activity is to prepare and
deliver the strongest case I can make to convince others that
they should focus on their own strengths and the strengths
of others. In this case I argue that a positive perspective,
characterized by optimism, hope, and focus on strengths, is
very beneficial for any person. I also enjoy reading the extensive
and growing psychological literature that supports that case.
I plan to continue this life’s purpose for the rest
of my life. I will probably spend my last days trying to convince
visitors to my deathbed that they should spread the word about
the optimism
advantage and the value of articulating one’s
Dependable Strengths.
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