Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli wrote, “I’ve brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it.” Every human being has a settled purpose or intent. The problem is, very few people explore that intent.
Your purpose is there. Increase your awareness and you will set it.
Discovering your purpose
You showed up in this life with a purpose, but you may not be aware of it or even that it exists. Most people have no idea of what they should be doing with their lives. It would be as if you had a bank account somewhere with millions of dollars in it, but you were simply not aware of its existence. It’s just sitting there waiting for you to claim it. Now that’s the thing that nightmares are made of, isn’t it?
In July 2003, as a midnight deadline passed, the doors of the Texas Lottery Commission Claims Department were locked, and $5 million dollars quietly went unclaimed. The 180-day deadline to claim the money had expired and some unknown person, who was probably unaware that he or she was, in fact, a millionaire, missed the chance to change their life forever.
All that person needed to do was complete a claim form and show up with a valid form of ID. Imagine never receiving that money because you didn’t know it existed. Your fully valid life lottery ticket is your purpose. All you have to do is claim it for yourself.
Sounds easy enough, right?
But…maybe you’ve turned a cold shoulder to your purpose.
Maybe you don’t know it exists and you’re not searching for it or maybe you feel that it’s there but you’re not sure how to uncover all that it can do to change your life.
I work with clients who are on either end of that spectrum. I guide them through a variety of exercises to help them identify, uncover and simply become aware of their inherent purpose.
Warm up to your purpose with these 4 exercises:
Exercise #1 – Do a historical review of your life
Who made the greatest impression on you? What event made a great impact on your life? Remembering those defining moments provides clues about your purpose.
Exercise #2 – Write a list of 10 things you love doing
What activities bring you the greatest joy? Many people try to make a living and pursue their destiny by doing things they don’t enjoy. If they don’t enjoy it, they have very little interest in it. And if you have little interest in a particular activity, then it’s probably not your purpose. Chances are you’ll get beat out by others doing the exact same thing if you don’t love what you do for a living.
Exercise #3 – Write a list of your hobbies
What do you enjoy reading and watching on television? How do you spend your days when you’re on vacation?
Exercise #4 – Review your answers
Make a list of comment themes, words or phrases. Think back on things you’ve done or projects you’ve worked on that are related to these words or phrases – identify your purpose.
Sometimes, finding your purpose requires trial and error.
I can hear you thinking “but what if I choose the wrong purpose?” Don’t let that thought hold you back from taking action. More than 70% of all the decisions we make are wrong. The point of decision-making isn’t to always be right but to narrow the number of right decisions. Every time you make a decision and it’s incorrect, you learn something.
You won’t make any discoveries sitting in the same place. You showed up with purpose! Get busy discovering it.
Continue visiting my blog for tips on how to hone in on your purpose.
