Having a purpose in life is often considered a way to live life to its full potential. This sentiment almost makes it seem unnecessary to have a true purpose, as if life is manageable without one. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Purpose is actually one of the four main components that determines our personal human condition. If we forego purpose and try to subsist on a totally uninspired life, it will deteriorate us from the inside out. Living without purpose is toxic to our personal condition and can actually depreciate the quality of our health, spirituality and personal relationships.

Without purpose, we struggle to feel a sense of worth and usefulness. It is innately human to attribute value to one’s self based on one’s talents, intellect or ability. In general, people are aware of what they are good at or in what ways they are intelligent, and they strive to make use of their abilities in their vocations. One enormous frustration with capitalistic values is that people cannot always make a living at their talents and are forced into vocations that do not meet their need to be purposeful. This is often referred to as “giving up on your dreams,” but the question is, is it the individual who gives up on their dreams or is it society that gives up on the individual? Humanity would be much happier if everyone was filling their time with the things they considered meaningful instead of lowering themselves from their talents in order to make a living.

The other thing about having purpose in life is that it occupies our talents and minds in the way they were meant to be occupied. People are aware that their personal talents are where their full potential lies. Our brains all have different areas of development which gives us our incredible diversity of talent and ability. Finding one’s purpose in life involves matching up these talents with a legitimate vocation that a person can spend their lifetime focusing on, which will keep their interest better than any other pursuit. When a person is forced to settle for a vocation that does not make use of their true abilities, they are condemned to a life of feeling unsatisfied and not using the most developed parts of their brain. The moral is, a purposeful life is worth fighting for, even if the cards are stacked against you.

Physical and mental health are key components to every individual’s personal condition. Arguably, every component in an individual’s life is either helping or hurting their mental and physical health, but mental and physical health are certainly their own entities. We depend on mental health to interpret the world around us correctly, as well as the world within us. Those who are unable suffer a great deal, while those who are able grow steadily in character and strength. We depend on physical health to keep us actively engaged in life. Pain and illness have a way of removing us from the moment and making us less capable. When we are in good physical health, we are able to reach further potential.

Mental health has as much to do with your current circumstances as it does with the circumstances of your past. Much of our mental health is determined by our biology and our environments. Mental health experts understand that the way we experience the world when we are children has a great deal to do with the outcome of our psychology as adults. People who had a mentally healthy childhood become mentally healthy adults. They are the fortunate ones. People who had a mentally unhealthy childhood are likely to be mentally unhealthy adults. These mentally unhealthy adults have the option of living life according to their past and remaining mentally unhealthy, or beginning the uphill battle for mental health that takes years of work. Good mental health is worth working for in every case because of how greatly it improves one’s quality of life.

Physical health is very similar to mental health and is tied to it in many ways. Much like mental health, physical health is very dependent on biology and environment as they are the two primary factors that influence physical health the most. Many factors that relate to a person’s physical health are passed down through genetics, which are out of a person’s control. Other factors are strongly tied to our childhood, as many health habits from childhood translate directly to adulthood. And recent information indicates that people who had adverse childhood experiences are more likely to struggle with physical health issues. The best thing a person can do to manage their personal health is live in a way that counters the biological misfortune they received through genetics and past experiences.

All too often, substance abuse either enhances or occurs as a result of mental or physical problems. Alcohol and drug abuse are one of the greatest enemies to good mental and physical health. If you or someone you care about is struggling with a substance abuse problem, reach out to alcohol and drug detox centers for help.