Our life purpose is something which is already within us. It is not something that we have to seek to find or struggle to achieve, rather something that we can connect with and become aware of. Here is a simple exercise to support you on that path.
(a)
Think back in your life to discover 3 examples of when you felt successful and you were ‘in flow’. ‘Success’ is defined purely in your terms. You are looking for a time (job, hobby, activity, project etc.) when you felt good about yourself, you really enjoyed what you were doing (maybe time stood still) and had a sense of pride or accomplishment in the process and outcome.
In short what we are looking for is times when you enjoyed what you were doing and were pleased with the outcome.
When you have identified these particularly special times, and they could be as far back as childhood, write a short story of 2/3 paragraphs describing each instance. Focus on what YOU did, the talents YOU were using, the feelings YOU experienced and the outcomes YOU achieved. Use the word ‘I’ as often as you can.
(b)
Create a list of all the verbs (the actions you took) from your stories
(c)
Create a list of all the words or phrases that best describe what it was that you were acting upon. Most often the object of your action will be included in the same sentence as your verb
e.g ‘I listened to the group’, but not always!
(d)
Make a note of the outcomes
(e)
Verbs Nouns (‘things’) Outcomes
(f)
Put some of the verbs with nouns and outcomes until you find ones that you feel really happy with.
A couple of examples for me are:
Inspiring People Fulfilment (what’s important to them)
Teaching Emotional intelligence Authentic communication
