Life Purpose (part two)

So Tuesday’s post seemed to open a can of worms. Some people were motivated, some challenged, some stimulated, some confused and some were inspired to consider, explore and discover their own life purpose. A few were even worried about not knowing what their life purpose is. Just what we all need; more stuff to worry and stress about.

Stop it.

Obviously an article by the ex-bodybuilder and bouncer won’t provide the final word on life purpose (amazingly) and it certainly ain’t gonna de-mystify the subject for all of mankind, but my intention in taking a look at this topic was merely to open the door to a fascinating area and to stimulate you to consider and explore your life purpose, if you haven’t done so already. Clearly, I can’t tell you (or anyone) what your life purpose should be (neither do I want to), but perhaps I can share some ideas, suggestions and strategies which may be of value to you in your quest to bring a new level of meaning, enjoyment and productivity to your life.

The benefits of consciously defining our life purpose are…

* It takes us out of that holding pattern we’ve been in for ten (twenty, thirty, forty) years (you know the one) and forces us to think deeply about our existence, our behaviours and the results we produce in our world, rather than simply getting up today and doing what we did yesterday, last month and last… decade.

* It gives us a level of clarity and certainty (two things we like) about how we live our life (work, relationships, hobbies, habits, communication, passions, spirituality) and why we do the things we do. It forces us to deal with, acknowledge and consider the things we’ve ignored and/or neglected for far too long.

* It becomes easier for us to make significant, life-impacting decisions because we have certainty and confidence about our existence.

* It provides us with a deeper level of meaning and understanding of the things we do with our life.

* It helps us stay focused and on course, and provides us with a degree of accountability, direction and responsibility; all good things.

* It keeps us (more) motivated, inspired, excited and proactive. It also keeps us doing what we need to do to get where we want to go (literally, metaphorically, emotionally, professionally, financially, creatively, etc.). It creates momentum; a necessary ingredient of the success journey.

What we know about the process of exploring our life purpose is…

* It’s not necessarily quick, painless or easy; it may take some time, work, discipline, consideration and considerable strength of character. Along the way, many will give up and they will settle. Compromise. Lower their standards. Your life purpose may not receive universal approval, endorsement or support. In fact, it probably won’t. Don’t be surprised if family, friends and/or colleagues don’t share your joy and optimism as you go on your journey of self-discovery. In fact, don’t be surprised if some do their best to sabotage your efforts. You can read more about those human speed humps here.

* There’s no universal consensus on how to find your life purpose (in fact there’s more like universal disagreement). The philosophers, the psychologists, the spiritual-types and the self-help brigade don’t really see eye to eye on this (even within their own group). Unfortunately, I can’t give you a fail-proof formula today because we’re all wired differently and different things work for different people. Some people’s life purpose is deeply spiritual. Some not. Some believe that God should be at the centre of every decision and mankind’s universal purpose is to serve him. Some not. Some academics believe that our purpose is to learn, evolve and ask questions. Some not. Some self-helpers believe that our purpose is to spend our life working at becoming the best us we can be. Some not. Some surfers think that people like you and I think too much and that life is about finding and riding the perfect wave. Who’s to say they’re wrong?

My thoughts and suggestions on the matter…

* Defining our life purpose is kind of like writing our own personal mission statement. If you work for a company with ten or more employees, then more than likely, your organisation has a mission statement. This tells us about the organisation’s reason for being, it’s values, it’s standards, it’s philosophy, the way it operates, why it operates and what it wants to do, be and create in it’s world. How do you operate and why do you operate that way? What do you want to do, be and create? Is your typical behaviour consistent with your goals, values and beliefs?

* Are you producing the kind of results you want to see in your world? If not, then maybe you’re living at odds with your true life purpose; what you could and should be doing.

* Life purpose is something which can, and often will, change over time.

* In researching, I discovered that some people are quite emotional, opinionated and borderline arrogant about this topic. Two people who I spoke with (since I wrote Tuesday’s article) were very forceful and absolute in their opinions and quite critical of people who didn’t align with their thinking on the matter. “Hey, I’m glad you have found your purpose, but please let me find my own.”

* Some of us feel like we need to have some kind of grand, totally selfless, world-changing, Mother Teresa-type mission here on planet earth, otherwise we can’t be living a life of value. Not true. That type of belief is paralysing, dis-empowering and ridiculous. If you have a global mission, great. If not, relax. This piece of advice is not to be mis-interpreted as a vote for selfishness and self-centred-ness.

* It’s interesting when you talk to some people about their (alleged) life purpose and then compare that with how they typically live their life. Liar, liar pants on fire. In truth, some people’s purpose (if their existence is any indication) is to make themselves comfortable and happy, at (almost) any cost. The theory (of life purpose) and the practical reality (of their life) are often quite different.

* My final piece of advice to you is, don’t step into someone else’s life purpose. Stop conforming and start being you. We already have too many clones, sheep and cults. Listen to others but explore, think and learn for yourself. Find your own truth, your own passion, your own song to sing, your own reason for being.

While I can’t tell you what your life purpose should be, I can tell you that if you have clarity about what you want to do, be and create over the course of your lifetime, you’re ahead of most.

Love to hear your thoughts…

Ciao x