LIVING A PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE: March 2011

Some years back I got frustrated with life because I had no idea where I was in life as the complexity of life overwhelmed me. I always hear people talk about living a purpose driven life and I was curious to find such life.

Which leads to the title of the topic am sharing today. “How do you live a purpose driven life?” Thinking about the question itself, I took a deep breath because I did not know how to answer it initially. After catching up with my breath, I came up with another confrontational question that answers the first question, although there is a saying that you do not answer a question with another question, in this case it was the only way forward for breaking down the process. The second question was “How do I find my purpose?”

At this point, I started researching materials written on life purpose and found it would be helpful to first clarify the difference between “purpose” and “goals” as it can often be confused with each other. Firstly, I will define goals as a milestone of achievements.

Purpose I found was define as the highest level of goal in life that signify one’s existent and reason for being. To emphasise its worth it was describe as the goal that other goals serve, in order words the master of all goals of life. No wonder we find in life the successful or the rich depending on how you define riches and success, sometimes talk about being unhappy or suicidal. That explains why you get fulfilled people who not rich or successful per se are happy and contended when they are living their purpose, which I believe is the true riches.

For example, someone whose goal is to have a big five bedrooms house might have a purpose to foster children.

To identify our purpose or finding our purpose in life is complicated, in spite of that every individual has the ability to make a difference in other people’s live hence living a purpose. It can be a complex journey; however, it is a necessary journey. Unfortunately, some of us do find we have embarked on a journey and have climbed to the top of that mountain, only to find out it is not the right one for us.

Many have missed out of life fulfilment because they were not able to locate what their purpose was before their death. I once heard a saying that one of the most prosperous places on earth is the burial ground because it is full of people with unaccomplished purposes.

This tips and warnings can be use as a pointer for finding our purpose

1. Self- reflection

This is a major step to finding our purpose in life by taking an inventory of our life, analysing what are our strengths and weaknesses. We can find our purpose by maximising our strengths and improving our weaknesses. Becoming aware of the key factors to living a purpose driven life is a powerful start. Self-reflection will enable us to reach a place where you stop looking outward for the answers but look inward into your core being or intuition, sometimes known as our gut feelings. I define intuition as the ability to knowing something without the use of reasoning; it is when you know something just because you know and not been able draw any reasoning nor logical explanation. For example, we sometimes have experiences where we feel strong about an issue or a situation that when we follow the direction of our feelings we get a favourable result, then again, we might get a feeling that our intuition is directing us to do something. However, we decide not to yield to it and it eventually turns out to be the case.

Your purpose will drive you and compel you to dreaming, visualising, fulfilment, inner peace, joy.

2. Communication

Through communication with trusted associates, friends and family, you can identify your purpose. Are there things people say about you that you do exceptionally well, or is there a talent that you recognised as having? For example, am sure we have all heard people say if you want an expert or the person who has a passion for caring for children of the world then names like Mother Theresa and so many others will come up. Therefore, what is that talent or passion you are known for or that thing you have a good heart for and compassionate and always willing to go the extra mile. All these could be a pointer to where your passion lays hence your purpose.

3. Volunteering

Being a volunteer for an organisation of your choice can also be a tip for finding your purpose in life. It is also a good way to test our gut feelings in reality. It has been found that when people volunteer in the area of their passion, they feel fulfilled, motivated and energise in that role more than they feel even in their full time work. You will actually feel a sense of achievement, value and contribution to other people’s life. For example, I found this to be true in my voluntary work, am always looking forward to it and the sense of adding value to someone else’s life was awesome and very fulfilling.

4. Frustration

I am sure you must be thinking frustration cannot be a tip to knowing one’s purpose, but it serves, as a prompter that something is not right hence the reason for the frustration. This could be a warning signal to indicate you are not living your purpose. For example, someone in a career, that they are not enjoying but feel they are stuck in it and have to remain due to certain complexity of life. Such signals can also be evident in a career\businesses that one is constantly feeling tired with no logical reasons for fatigue, although not solely the only factor but if you find that your energy is drained and you are feeling frustrated or out of character behaviours like you are muddy at work and at home. I will emphasise again it is not 100 percentages proven to be the only symptom but medically and psychologically proven that nine out of ten people feeling this way have an aspect of their life not right hence their purpose. It is more than likely that the person is in the wrong purpose or destiny. In such case, the person ought to be working on their exit strategy. This might take longer or shorter time depending on the actions you take and how determined you are to begin living a purpose driven life. If I can humble you, it is better to start taking little step than not taking any, and living in hope without action will only intensify your frustration. For example, I got frustrated with what life was dumping on me, I tried many careers and businesses not feeling fulfilled but frustrated because I knew I was not that person that flow with the masses. I knew deep inside me that I was a unique being of excellent who is destiny to excel and make a difference in the life of others, so when that was not happening in my life. I knew something was wrong that I had to find my purpose. Therefore, just over two years ago I embarked on a search to find out “Why” I am on the planet earth. I invested time into research, and become a lover of personal development books, attended seminars and training developments, got myself a mentor, coach and am still doing it, to get to where I am today, and my every day is opening up a new opportunity for me to excel and contribute to humanity.

5. Economy melt down

Often periods of instability forces individuals and organisations to reflect on themselves. As an organisation, are they fulfilling on their purpose that create that unique selling point that separate them from their competitors. As individuals, people are kind of living in fear of not wanting to lose their jobs or thinking what if I do, what can I do is the question in mind that propels people to want to re-ignite their focus and skills hence discover their purpose. It is actually one of the few moments where fears reverse into positive, because it forces people to either adjust or start preparing them for a plan B therefore finding their life purpose.

For example, in my case, I lost my job again, and this brought me to the realization that I needed to look inwardly rather than looking outwardly for my solution and getting disappointments and being frustrated. I asked myself the ultimate questions, what are my strengths, talents, gifts that can ensure I am living in my purpose, what can I do, and whose help do I need?

Conclusion

Above all, taking action is paramount to living your purpose. I got myself a life coach, mentors, invested in books and other learning medium and material to re-orient my thinking and overcome self-limiting believes. My discovery was phenomenal and life transforming. Awareness and knowledge without action will only end

in frustration, taking actions to living your purpose will create a fulfilling life, and you leave a legacy behind.

Please leave your comments below.

During challenging/problem times in our lives, part of what determines whether we overcome them or not depends on the attitude we choose to adopt. I want to share a tip on how our attitude would contribute to our results. You must have a right attitude to overcome your challenges. People would often display two major attitudes when confronted with challenges: NEGATIVE ATTITUDE or POSITIVE ATTITUDE.

Let us consider NEGATIVE Attitude. People with a negative attitude will react to their challenges with “negative vibes" which feeds their mind with anger, confusion, resentment, frustration and as a consequence of such reaction they limit their thinking faculty of the mind to come up with constructive ideas. A negative attitude person would most likely develop their thinking to blaming others for their predicament hence adopting a “blaming strategy", which implies that someone or something is responsible for their predicament. Very often such people take little or no action because of their wrong attitude that elude them from thinking straight therefore, they either do anything or do very little to create a solution. Unfortunately, the result of such attitude is that the challenges either persist or intensify.

Now let us consider POSITIVE RESPONSE Attitude. Most people that respond to their challenges positively often find the solutions they are looking for or some form of solution that enables them to get the result they intended. They would usually remain calm, quiet and confident during challenging times; they would often take a step back to reflect on the situation, utilising what is called inside-out approach, which means looking at what skills/resources they posses and only then do they search for available support outside to overcome. They would often find solutions with ease because of their open/positive attitude that focuses on changing the course of the matter from that of trial to triumph. They do this by asking the question “How do I resolve this or what can I do?" rather than asking "Why me?"

In conclusion, this is not to say that positive attitude is all you need to overcome your challenges but it is very good starting point to unleash the power within us during challenging times.

LIVING A PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE

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