Recently I have been having a lot of conversations with people about ‘purpose’; their purpose, the organisational purpose and even the purpose for a meeting or project team. I therefore thought a series of very short blogs on finding our purpose could well be helpful for many of you.
This is part three. If you missed parts one and two then you can find them here:-
I find that one of the most powerful things in life is finding our purpose. Without a purpose we can drift from month to month and year to year, being blown by the metaphorical wind and tide of life with no focus on where we should be heading. With a (strong) purpose we can weather most storms, show resilience, courage and an inner confidence that others find comforting and inspirational.
So the questions that come to mind are: what is a purpose, why is it so important and how do we find our own? This is the third of three separate and short blogs over a couple of weeks. I would love to hear your feedback as I can follow up with a further blog to address any questions, please email me.
What are the routes to finding our purpose?
That’s the obvious next question!
I wish this was the easy bit but, in my experience, this is rarely the case. I also don’t believe there is one answer that fits all, but there are some things I do know about finding our purpose:
- You don’t have to spend 40 days and 40 nights on your own to find it
- You won’t find it with a busy mind! You must let the snow globe of your mind settle and the best way to do this is to get away from your day-to-day surroundings (be that home or work). Get out! Go for a walk in an inspirational setting
- A friend, coach or mentor can help you find it, by asking questions, remaining silent and reflecting back what they hear you say and not say
- The following questions can also help to start the process:
- what does the world expect from me?
- what does the world deserve from me?
- what would deeply upset or even anger me if it never happened?
- what would I love my legacy to be?
- what would I love my epitaph to be?
- what do I REALLY want? (repeat this question six times and see where the journey takes you. The answers may surprise and delight you. Oh, and have the Kleenex to hand!)
Asking “why?” or “so what?” at least four times after each of the above is a sure-fire way to get clarity, and this is super-helpful!
Does passion lead to purpose?
I was on a development programme at MIT in Boston last week, and one of the things they shared was that often in life we start to do ‘stuff’ that is either needed or seems like a good idea and/or maybe some friends or colleagues are doing it. Then, after a while, we get good at it after so much practice.
It’s then that we develop a PASSION for this as it gives us energy and plays to our strengths and then we discover that this is (aligned to) our PURPOSE. As I mentioned before, I think we all have a purpose and it is within us to reveal, and as such, we naturally get attracted to the things that will serve that purpose. So it’s always good to think about what things in life are you passionate about and ask why (ask this five or six times!).
The purpose of these blogs is not to be a definitive guide to finding your purpose, but I do hope they will serve as a stimulus to start your journey to find your own, such that you can fulfil your full potential and create the transformations that you maybe have only dreamed about to date.
Our purpose as an organisation is Creating the freedom to choose. We understand that we all have a choice every day with what we say, what we do and what we focus on mentally and physically. In doing so, we create our reality. Understanding this, and enabling others to see it, creates the most amazing sense of freedom where each and every person can excel. This is our dream and our passion. It is our purpose!
If you’re interested in learning more or finding help to find your purpose, as an individual, team or organisation then do get in touch.
After all, iTS Leadership!
With love
Antony
Let’s start something new!
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