I recently talked about short-term solutions to be more happy and enjoy life more, and those are helpful, but there are also long-term solutions that have a more lasting effect. I realize this is a more serious topic than I normally cover on this blog — I have another blog for seriousness — but it goes with a recent post, and I do like to write here about making your life more awesome, so it somewhat fits.

I’ve been studying happiness for an upcoming blog series, and one thing I’ve discovered is that having purpose is a key component of being consistently happy. That, and relationships, and your mindset.

Relationships may seem obvious, because having family and friends who love you and care about you just makes life better. The right mindset is a deep topic — too deep for this post — but just consider that your expectations matter a lot, along with the stories you tell yourself to explain and summarize everything. (And along those lines, DON’T COMPLAIN! Someone who always complains can even take the fun out of a snack of cookies and milk. Don’t be that person.) So without going too deep into all that, let’s talk for a minute about finding your purpose.

We all have a purpose in this life, which God has given us. Every one of us is unique, so we all bring something special to the table. We are all potentially awesome, in a unique way. (Of course, not everyone has discovered their awesomeness — some live the opposite, and some try to be generic so they blend in — but we all have that potential, which we have to find and develop.)

What is our purpose? To sum it up, it’s to love God and love people. How we do that depends on our uniqueness and what makes you you. You are able to connect with the people around you in a way that is different from anyone else. We each have a role to play. The Bible explains it with the illustration of one body with many parts that are all important and all work together.

Helping people is a lot more than just the big, obvious things. You can encourage someone while having lunch with them and having funny and/or epic conversations. Going for a walk together, talking and listening, is important and can make a difference. Even just a text can encourage someone (although in-person is better when possible). One of the main things needed these days is to just be present (i.e., don’t look at your phone) — simply pay attention to the people around you. Think about the topics that interest you and find people who also share that interest, and spend time with people. You can even help people while playing video games together. (I realize that’s controversial to some, and context matters, of course, but it does happen. I participate in this myself, so I know.)

So don’t think you have to be in an official church ministry capacity to help the people around you. Everyone needs hope and encouragement and someone to listen to them. And we can all do that. And there are unlimited ways we can accomplish this.

A great benefit of finding your purpose in helping others is that it increases your own happiness. So it’s a win-win situation.