Extraordinary Outcomes: Shaping an Otherwise Unpredictable Future

2Connect to a Compelling PurposeFuel Curiosity and Ignite Future-Focused Thinking

The Purpose of Purpose

In Greek mythology, the deceitful King Sisyphus is doomed to spend eternity pushing a large boulder up a steep mountain, only to have it roll back down just before it reaches the top, forcing him to start over again. In another Greek myth, Penelope, wife of the absent Odysseus, sits all day at her loom, painstakingly weaving a burial shroud, only to unravel it each night and start again the next morning.

The repetitive work of Sisyphus is frustrating and meaningless, and is designed as punishment, to torture its victim. But what about Penelope's? She has willingly chosen a task that on the surface appears to be no different from the burden of Sisyphus—doing, undoing, and redoing work. However, her work has great meaning. Her husband has not returned from war but she believes he is still alive. To ward off suitors while she waits for his return, she agrees to choose one of them as a new husband, but only when she finishes weaving the shroud on her loom. To buy time, she gladly commits to the repetitive job because it holds purpose. Even mundane activity can become meaningful when embedded in the richer context of purpose.

Purpose is the magnetic pull that draws us into the future, injecting us with resilience to overcome stumbles and reinterpret tedious tasks along the way. Purpose acts as a filter, helping us determine what we have to pay attention to, and what we can safely ...