You Don’t “Find” Your Purpose
“A study conducted by the national institutes on aging found that people who can articulate their sense of purpose—who know what they’re good at, their passions, their values, and where they can contribute—live about eight years longer than people who are rudderless in life.” — Dan Buettner
When we talk about finding our purpose we think about having to try out many things and reading the books and being blessed by a spiritual leader and drinking half a cup of unicorn’s blood at full moon.
Am I right?
The thing is this.
You want to STOP looking.
Don’t try to find your purpose outside yourself.
Because it is already here.
Instead of looking for it, listen to yourself, your system, your memories.
When have you felt the most purposeful?
When have you felt the most fulfilled?
When have you felt in flow?
What comes the easiest to you?
I know you know this question but the answer to this sits deeper than you think.
What comes easiest to you and how can you leverage that to be of service to other people?
That’s where you find your purpose.
For me, when I asked myself the question of what comes easily to me, I responded with all the skills that I was trying to monetise already. I was trying to trick my brain. “My skill is translating (because at the time I was working as a translator)”. But it is much simpler, much more innocent than that.
Ask yourself again and again and again — what am I good at? What brings me joy?
Read old diaries and observe what makes you smile and your heart expand.
What are people saying to you?
People you deeply trust and who you know are honest and genuine.
The skills that come easily to you, you don’t necessarily see and traditionally it’s those that you just kind of brush off cause how are they a skill when you just do it, right?
I know.
Think simpler.
No, strike that.
Go deep and then go high.
No, strike that.
Be yourself.
How can you be the most yourself?
What do you do when you are the most yourself?
Who are you being when you are the most yourself?
How do you spend your day when you are the most yourself on a weekend? How do you behave when you are the most yourself when you are with other people?
What comes up when you stop reading books and articles, stop listening to podcasts, stop watching YouTube and Netflix – just for a day or two?
What are you drawn to?
Strip back the layers.
Stop “looking” for your purpose and start listening to your soul.
(And then question that, too, and go yet another step deeper and simpler.)
What does truly light you up - and then how can you make it bigger than yourself.
What’s deeply important to you and how can you use that to make a difference in the world?
The answers are inside of you.
I am currently challenging myself to schedule 100 Powerful Coaching Conversations within 30 days (4 October – 2 November 2021). If you want to help me out and you would like to have a 2-hour non-binding powerful coaching conversation with me, message me here and use 100PCC in the subject line.
PS. I work with dreamers.
Whenever you’re ready… If you want to get clearer on your purpose, learn to love yourself, find the courage to step into your vision and make a difference in the world – let’s have a powerful non-binding conversation! I know you are here for a reason and I’d love to support you further. My support looks like this: You talk. You tell me about your dreams and your struggles. I listen. We play. Your life changes.
I’ve seen it time and time again. I’m ready when you are.
PPS. If you loved this blog post, please share the love with a friend you know would benefit from it. Send it to them via WhatsApp, email it to them, text it to them, ... Whatever you've got to do to get this in their hands. ✨
