Life Purpose Programme
Life Purpose is a feeling that you’re aligned with something higher, something that lets you feel that you are able to express who you really are. Life purpose allows you – regardless of the challenges and difficulties that may or may not be involved – to feel that you have settled into yourself, that you are on track. It’s my view that life purpose can change in terms of HOW we pursue it, but that the values that are expressed in doing so remain the same. For example, the teacher may become a coach and then a motivational speaker – it’s all about helping people realise a higher version of themselves and as the person develops, so does their ability to reach and inspire others. Life Purpose can be found, but it can also be arrived at: the addict in recovery who, as part of his recovery process volunteers to help other addicts, may find meaning and consequently life purpose in providing that support - but only if supporting others or some other value which is expressed in this activity is their life purpose. Life purpose is innate and is in the realm of heart/gut. Life purpose is an internal search.
A life without purpose can be busy and it can have meaning, but it's a bit like chasing bubbles ... you race after it and as soon as you touch it, it pops and there's nothing there. That experience can manifest as a mid-life crisis: you spend time and energy, sweat and tears, years of striving towards a goal and once you achieve it (or begin to get close), you realise it's not what you thought it would be. That goal you worked towards doesn't satisfy, it doesn't cause you to feel you're expanding and growing, it doesn't make you feel more of yourself. You may feel rather that you're having to shoehorn yourself into a life you were never meant to live and being a square peg in a round hole can be very uncomfortable indeed!
Meaning is the significance we choose to give to activities, feelings, thoughts, etc. We like to feel that the work and other activities we participate in has meaning because it’s more rewarding to do meaningful things than not, but that meaning (or lack of it) will vary from person to person based on our personal history, values, beliefs and attitudes. Chasing meaning can lead you away from life purpose rather than towards it, because meaning is in the realm of the mind. Meaning is an internal (values) and external (social norms) search.
Passion feeds your enthusiasms and given you energy, focus, direction and puts fire in your belly. But it may not be your life purpose. Passion can be a fickle master and can wither and die just as quickly as it burned hotly. Your passion may point you in the direction of your life purpose and for some people it may be that their passion is actually their life purpose. But for others, following their passion(s) may be a distraction. Following your passion often leads you on an outwards journey, whereas uncovering your life purpose is very much about checking on what's happening within.
Happiness is transient and usually the satisfaction of needs, desires or wants which we seek externally.
Uncovering your life purpose is a journey of discovery which is ongoing because, even if you know your life purpose, it’s important to keep checking that you’re on track. And if you have not yet found your life purpose, then setting aside time for reflection, reviewing the past and exploring new things is a good way to find it. Putting yourself under pressure to find life purpose as if it was a lost key, will not work. Enjoy the process of going deeper and discovering more about yourself, because it may take a while – or it may happen quite quickly. However long it takes, your life purpose is not a decision, it’s a realisation!
Uncovering your life purpose may be the gentlest yet most profound personal development journey you ever undertake. It necessitates looking at who you really are - in all your complexity and nuance - to hone in on those things that are essentially you and then to look at how to express that in a way that is useful and fulfilling. We can only be who we are, but it's not always easy or clear to identify what our essence is and how we may best express that in the world.
Life Purpose is a feeling that you’re aligned with something higher, something that lets you feel that you are able to express who you really are. Life purpose allows you – regardless of the challenges and difficulties that may or may not be involved – to feel that you have settled into yourself, that you are on track. It’s my view that life purpose can change in terms of HOW we pursue it, but that the values that are expressed in doing so remain the same. For example, the teacher may become a coach and then a motivational speaker – it’s all about helping people realise a higher version of themselves and as the person develops, so does their ability to reach and inspire others. Life Purpose can be found, but it can also be arrived at: the addict in recovery who, as part of his recovery process volunteers to help other addicts, may find meaning and consequently life purpose in providing that support - but only if supporting others or some other value which is expressed in this activity is their life purpose. Life purpose is innate and is in the realm of heart/gut. Life purpose is an internal search.
A life without purpose can be busy and it can have meaning, but it's a bit like chasing bubbles ... you race after it and as soon as you touch it, it pops and there's nothing there. That experience can manifest as a mid-life crisis: you spend time and energy, sweat and tears, years of striving towards a goal and once you achieve it (or begin to get close), you realise it's not what you thought it would be. That goal you worked towards doesn't satisfy, it doesn't cause you to feel you're expanding and growing, it doesn't make you feel more of yourself. You may feel rather that you're having to shoehorn yourself into a life you were never meant to live and being a square peg in a round hole can be very uncomfortable indeed!
Meaning is the significance we choose to give to activities, feelings, thoughts, etc. We like to feel that the work and other activities we participate in has meaning because it’s more rewarding to do meaningful things than not, but that meaning (or lack of it) will vary from person to person based on our personal history, values, beliefs and attitudes. Chasing meaning can lead you away from life purpose rather than towards it, because meaning is in the realm of the mind. Meaning is an internal (values) and external (social norms) search.
Passion feeds your enthusiasms and given you energy, focus, direction and puts fire in your belly. But it may not be your life purpose. Passion can be a fickle master and can wither and die just as quickly as it burned hotly. Your passion may point you in the direction of your life purpose and for some people it may be that their passion is actually their life purpose. But for others, following their passion(s) may be a distraction. Following your passion often leads you on an outwards journey, whereas uncovering your life purpose is very much about checking on what's happening within.
Happiness is transient and usually the satisfaction of needs, desires or wants which we seek externally.
Uncovering your life purpose is a journey of discovery which is ongoing because, even if you know your life purpose, it’s important to keep checking that you’re on track. And if you have not yet found your life purpose, then setting aside time for reflection, reviewing the past and exploring new things is a good way to find it. Putting yourself under pressure to find life purpose as if it was a lost key, will not work. Enjoy the process of going deeper and discovering more about yourself, because it may take a while – or it may happen quite quickly. However long it takes, your life purpose is not a decision, it’s a realisation!
Uncovering your life purpose may be the gentlest yet most profound personal development journey you ever undertake. It necessitates looking at who you really are - in all your complexity and nuance - to hone in on those things that are essentially you and then to look at how to express that in a way that is useful and fulfilling. We can only be who we are, but it's not always easy or clear to identify what our essence is and how we may best express that in the world.