What's Your Purpose?

Have you ever asked yourself the question: "What am I here to do or say? What is my purpose?"

This is a question that has been with me for a very long time as I'm intrigued by what it means to live with a sense of purpose. Perhaps this is part of living with purpose - it's always difficult and grappling.

But there's something about staying in the question that is so interesting and exciting. For our path may diverge and then diverge yet again, meaning we always need to return to the question - "what am I here to do or say?"

Developing purpose I think is not supposed to be plain sailing. I have read countless articles on how to discover your purpose. But after having read all these articles, although I found some relevant stuff, I felt like there was always something missing. Something in the realm of purpose felt incomplete. Instead of fighting this I learnt to stay with the 'not knowing.'

After all the searching and contemplating and staying in the question, a new ideology emerged. And this is what the coaching process has taught me. Being coached and coaching other people I have learnt that the end point is not the key. So often we are grasping onto, clinging to or craving a certain outcome that will result in having arrived at our purpose. I have come to realize that this idea is at its core, a very limited perception.

This false assumption is merely part of a system of thinking that has been developed through years and years of conditioning - find your purpose and all will be well! This is just part of a mindset that perceives limit, and in its perception of limit, it perceives purpose as something to 'get' too.

These are the mindset assumptions, ideologies, values and belief systems that I believe we need to question if we are to develop higher levels of purpose. By doing this we are essentially saying; "Hey, I'm willing to open myself up to development and I'm not going to be confined to or limited by one set of perceptions. I'll not be a victim of a particular logic that reinforces limit and governs my thoughts, behavior and results (personal or professional) accordingly."

And herein lies a crux moment. Because in order for us to open ourselves up to this new way of thinking, we have to question our own identity. I have therefore, aligned purpose very closely with identity - knowing how we think, knowing what drives our behavior (motive), and questioning various behavioral patterns.

Clearer identity will result in a clearer sense of purpose. In accordance with identity I have outlined a few other areas that need to be considered when developing higher levels of purpose. Here they are.

• Purpose works from a space of freedom. It is non-restrictive. As soon as you place a limit on purpose you confine yourself to the realm of the ordinary. And purpose is definitely not ordinary - it is the highest form of intelligence, personal development, spiritual growth and human capability.
• Purpose is expansive. In order to develop higher purpose you need to adopt an expansive mindset. For greater insight into the expansive mindset click here.
• Purpose requires intimate knowledge and development of skills, talents and passions. When we advance in all 3 areas we automatically begin to tap into higher levels of purpose. The more time we spend on honing our skills and talents towards what we enjoy doing and using this to make a difference in the world, the greater our purpose will be.
• Purpose stems from a belief system. This system is built on something greater than self. Yet paradoxically it comes from a deep inner motivation, something not so much driven by external circumstances - and clinging to the outcome of those circumstances. Rather, purpose is intrinsically aligned with overcoming challenges and complexity from within a higher self. What challenges you and gives you that sense of fulfillment for moving through the challenge? Therein you will develop your purpose. 

So just to recap, purpose is not something to discover out of thin air. It's more something to grapple with, to feel uncomfortable about. Purpose evolves out of a belief system that goes beyond the confines of limit to a much higher path of personal growth and development. In order for us to emerge at these higher levels of purpose we need to engage with identity and all its complexity. And stay in the question!