At the age of 43 I realised one very simple thing: that many of us live life like children in a toy store and they can choose any toy they want but can only have one. Usually they get frustrated with so many choices, so they run from one toy to another, getting more and more frustrated.
I believe adults without a clear purpose are often the same way, floating from one life choice to another, never satisfied, living a life with no fulfilment, satisfaction and joy.
Most people want more clarity on the direction of their life, but they live on the run telling themselves they don’t have time, they have important things to get done, and of course, they have!
In all my 20-year career since accompanying people in their own development I’ve never met anyone who didn’t have certain moments in life where they:
- struggle with the meaning of personal value
- struggle with doubt about what are they really good at
- struggle with why are they going to work
- struggle with why are they doing some tasks every day
- struggle with the misunderstanding why do they work so hard and at the end of the day it feels like they haven’t actually accomplished much
In doing so, they often struggle to find what kind of life they want to dedicate themselves to, what is their unique and very personal driving force that moves them, what is their true purpose in life, what is their real “Why?”.
I have to admit that before I found my own purpose it was hard for me to make fast decisions under urgency of context, I used to have a lot of doubts and change my mind quite easily, revisit and reconsider the decision without giving it the chance to see first results. I used to look more to “what is the problem” instead of “what is the solution”, I postponed in different areas of my life and wasted a lot of time and energy.
As I’m an unstoppable traveler in discovering human’s life, and mine also ?, a few years ago I decided to restart my life a bit and I went through a personal process to reconsider my vision of life, my purpose and some important areas in my life where I really wanted to put focus and make progress.
Now that I have a clear vision and purpose about my life, that include my core values, my beliefs, my emotions, my own “rules of the game”, I simplified my life greatly and I would like to share with you How finding the true purpose changed my life:
1. Living with purpose helps me stay focused and achieve better results
When I got clarity about my life’s purpose, it became easier to focus on what matters the most in life. By keeping the focus on one particular result I want, I’m able to find my direction very easily and stay away from the distractions. Inner clarity leads me to outer results.
For me, this was one of the most valuable benefits to going through this process, especially once I began to use my life purpose to make my choices in where and how I’m going to invest my time, energy, money and skills.
2. Living with purpose helps me build my confidence and stay motivated
Once I become very conscious about my vision and purpose I become more able to keep going overcoming the obstacles, and I do have a few. ?
For me, this step on my personal process became the key to unlocking my resources, my true self-motivation. This set me up for achievement and fulfilment and it also eliminated the unknown and unleashed a hidden strength.
It was the fuel that pushed me forward in expressing my capacities in my personal life, my social life, my career and business beyond anything I could consider before clarifying my purpose.
The better I know what really matters to me, the more energy I have to pursue it, and no matter how many difficulties I face, I gain trust in myself, I feel stronger and braver.
3. Living with purpose helps me take actions with flexibility, adapt and move on.
Seeing my objectives aligned with my real purpose helped me adapt to changing circumstances, when things didn’t turn out as I expected, I realised that it was more easy for me to find new ways to achieving the same purpose, even if that one goal was no longer possible.
For me, this is a real capacity that brings me continuity, and also stability, and enables me to recover quickly from failures and to be more flexible to changing events.
Wrap up
I believe that in a shake world full of rapid changes, taking space to define your purpose and values is an investment that will pay back many times over: in greater focus, motivation, efficiency, adaptability, and results (of whatever you want).
When you live your life with a sense of purpose, you start to shape a much more positive attitude, an open mindset and start seeking out new opportunities.
Relationships are also affected in a positive way when you live life with purpose. You seek out new relationships, nurture the existing ones, and build stronger connections with the people around you.
You tend to live your life with more curiosity, try to stay away from unproductive habits, and find the peace and serenity that comes from leading a purpose-driven life.
I really hope this is not too cheesy for you, it doesn’t mean that life becomes peachy and filled with roses once you find your purpose. You still need to put in the hard work to make things happen.
But now you have the right direction to set you forward because: No purpose → Vague goals/no goals → Vague plans or no plans → Random daily actions, procrastination, or constantly busy with others’ agendas.
Before you go…
You might also be living off purpose, maybe simply haven’t found yourself yet. There’s nothing wrong with you, there’s simply something missing at this point in your life.
If I were you, I wouldn’t wait around for more scientific research about purpose, I’d just get a purpose.
If you want to make progress in your life send me a message at Felicia@humans-coaching.com and I’ll be happy to share with you how can I accompany you in your own process.
If you enjoyed this article, please share it, I’m sure there are out there some people who are on a mission to build a better life.
