by Michelle Jenck, Adventist Health Tillamook Director of Community Well-Being
Are you making a difference in the world? Does your life matter? Having a sense of purpose is important to our overall well-being. People with purpose are happier, healthier and more productive. As a result, people who live “on purpose” live longer, better lives. We don’t need to visit a remote cave or mystical community to discover our sense of purpose. The clues are already present within us. Each of us has unique gifts and talents we can intentionally use to lead a more meaningful life.

Purpose Workshops help people identify their gifts and how they can apply them to live their best life. This is especially helpful when exploring relationships, jobs, volunteer opportunities, planning for retirement, and responding to major life events like marriage, divorce, birth and death. Our gifts even nudge us toward certain careers, relationships and even hobbies. If we never intentionally explore our gifts, we may never fully live or experience true joy in life.
During a purpose workshop, you are guided through a process to:
Have you ever met someone who just seems full of joy, happy to get out of bed each day no matter their job or what is happening in their lives? Often it is the community volunteer or workplace wellness warrior we see living out their purpose in this way. However, it can also be someone undergoing cancer treatment, or a person experiencing a serious life crisis, who seems to maintain a sense of perspective and an eye toward hope, even during dark times. What these people have in common is that they are tapping into intrinsic traits that bring them joy, peace and contentment, regardless of their circumstances.
While everyone has their own unique gifts, they often go undiscovered. Oliver Wendell Holmes said that most people go to their graves with their music still inside them. On a similar note, there is an ancient story about a man who travels the world over for many years seeking treasure, only to return home as an old man to discover the treasure was buried beneath his house all along. This is so common. We look everywhere, outside ourselves, our whole lives, for the very thing we already possess.
As mentioned earlier, there are clues that help us identify our gifts:
We may know someone who loves their job or a particular volunteer activity. For them the work isn’t work at all. It brings them joy and they actually derive energy from doing the work. Moreover, that energy is often contagious. This is a good sign that someone is living on purpose. When we do things we enjoy, that align with our gifts, whether for our job, in service to others, or as a hobby, we experience a deep sense of satisfaction.
Living a life of purpose is connected to better health and well-being. Research shows that knowing our gifts guides better decision-making, builds resilience and helps us feel like we make a difference in the world.
Through the Blue Zones Project, and in partnership with Tillamook County Wellness, Adventist Health Tillamook is offering free Purpose Workshops. During a guided session, participants can discover (or re-discover) their individual gifts and talents and map out a framework for using their gifts to live a more purpose-oriented and satisfying life.
The 90-minute workshops are offered in-person and virtually (via Zoom) on the third Friday of each month, Noon-1:30 pm, beginning June 17^th. There is no charge for the workshops. Registration is required to receive workshop materials and event updates. To register for a workshop, please fill out this form: https://forms.office.com/g/KBRnjqHfG5

While offered in a group setting, participants will work through their own process to identify their unique gifts, using a personal workbook they can keep after the session. As part of the Tillamook County Wellness This Way to Well-Being campaign, prize drawings will be held at each workshop.
Other wellness questions? Email us at [email protected]. For more local health and wellness information, visit www.tillamookcountywellness.org or follow Tillamook County Wellness on Facebook and Instagram.
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