How to Discover Your True Purpose
One of my three Guiding Principles is “Purpose.” The world is constantly sending us messages about how to behave and make decisions. These messages come from every walk of life: family, friends, teachers, religious leaders, and social media.
All of these people have one thing in common: they're trying to give us advice on how to live our lives. Some of the advice works for some people and not for others. It's okay to listen to these voices. However, you must learn how to discern what you should accept and what you should reject.
But with so many voices, it can be difficult to be clear on who you are and what your life purpose is in this world. For clarity, ask yourself: “Who do I want to be in this life?”
If your goal is to be a “successful person” (I’ll define ‘success’ at another time), then, by all means, follow the advice of people who have been successful. However, if your goal is to live an authentic life, you must learn to ignore any advice that interferes with that.
So how do you live with purpose in a world of so many voices? I’d ask you to consider the following:
Live according to your values. We often think of values as abstract ideas like honesty, integrity, and courage. But these abstract ideas have concrete implications in your life.
● When you assert your values, you communicate to others what is important to you. You exercise your rights, make choices, and live with integrity. Yet it's not always easy to know what your values should be.
● Again, you must consider two critical questions about Values:
○ What is important to me?
○ What are the consequences of my choices?
2. Ascertain what others like about you. Everyone has something they do well. Everyone has strengths -- and they may not always be evident to you. When others notice your good qualities or strengths, ask them to share what they see with you.
● Many successful people state that appreciation from others early on played a huge role in their success. But one thing we know for sure is that feeling grateful improves our relationships and positively impacts our sense of well-being.
3. Recognize how life should feel. You must move from thinking (brain) about how you feel (Ego) to engaging how you feel through your heart to find your true purpose. So, the first question you have to answer is this: What do I want my life to feel like? Your purpose -- how you want to feel – will be what motivates and drives you toward achieving your purpose and goals.
● When you wake up, you should feel energized and excited about your day. That feeling lets you know you're on the right track.
● If it's something meaningful to you, you’ll realize that you’re energized and excited about it. The antidote to feeling bored? It's finding meaning in your life.
● I’m not a blind-eyed believer thinking that there will only be sunshine and flowers! NO! It is important to note that even if you’re doing something very meaningful with your life, there will be days when it feels difficult, boring, or discouraging. That can happen with any career or life choice. However, if you’re on the right path, your overall feeling should be that you’re doing something worthwhile.
4. Lastly, and most importantly, to live with purpose, you need to embrace your fears and move towards your goals. Living with purpose is about embracing your fears and turning them into strengths. Channel your fears and weaknesses—use them to guide your areas of improvement.
● It's easier to overcome your fears if you accept them as part of who you are and do everything you can to improve them. Once you have overcome your weaknesses, you have a much better chance of reaching your goals in life.
● By living with purpose, you are more likely to focus on what you can do rather than what you can't do.
Living with purpose is about living with passion and focusing on what you care about most. Your purpose is something that makes you happy and keeps you going. It's that feeling of knowing that you're a part of something bigger than yourself.
It doesn't matter what your purpose is, as long as you are willing to fight for it and take the necessary actions to make it a reality.
Wishing your Love, Peace…and Purpose. Ebony Eagle!
