Purpose

 

Many of us have kind of an angsty relationship with “purpose”.

We get these strong cultural messages saying that if we don’t know our “purpose in life” then we are somehow incomplete. It’s easy to end up feeling like we’re not measuring up.

If you’re panicking at the sight of our theme for this month, don’t worry. I’m here to tell you that these cultural messages are bullshit. 🙂

Is purpose important in our lives? Absolutely.

There’s loads of research in psychology showing that purpose gives meaning and direction to our lives. But it needn’t be “Purpose” with a giant, intimidating capital “P”.

Purpose is not this single, magic, elusive thing waiting out there for us to find it — like the one soulmate we’ve yet to meet.

It’s something we create through our actions and intentions.

We can begin inviting purpose into our lives the moment we set a goal for ourselves, no matter how small. That can look like deciding to learn a new skill or travel to a new place. Or it can be a bigger picture kind of purpose — such as committing to our own inner growth or embodying an important personal value.

And eventually, purpose can begin to feel even bigger and broader, as we notice and lean into connecting threads of meaning behind the things to which we commit ourselves.

At every level, though, there’s a consciousness and intentionality that we can bring to our actions that helps enrich them with meaning.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of assuming we have to “figure out” our purpose first before setting off in pursuit of it. And so we can get frozen in place.

But the truth is that purpose requires action first. The inner sense of having a purpose — whether the small day-to-day kind or the big, life-defining kind — usually comes only through a combination of action and reflection.

Here’s my formula for growing purpose in your life…

  1. Set a goal or direction.
  2. Get clear on why it matters to you right now.
  3. Take action.
  4. Reflect on your experiences and notice what they’re telling you about the things that feel most meaningful, most resonant, most YOU.
  5. Do more of those things.
  6. Rinse and repeat.

I’ve reached a point in my own life where I actually *do* feel a big sense of Purpose. But I can tell you that I’ve done a lot of flailing around — along with a lot of very productive journaling about those experiences — in order to arrive here.

Do some people know their “Purpose” from an early age? Yes. (And if you’re one of them, congratulations, you lucky duck!) But from my experience, those folks are the exception to the rule.

For most of us, purpose is something we can practice daily — while Purpose is a lifelong journey.

Come join me this month as we explore the whole spectrum of purpose and how it can enrich our lives — exactly where and how we are right now.

 

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