From Personality to Action - How you create a meaningful life

A meaningful life - what a great phrase and something we usually would name when it comes to our life goals or desirable achievements.

But what exactly creates meaning and is it possible to define it despite the fact that it is a very subjective matter?

In this article I share with you the main 5 elements that lead to meaning in life based on my personal experiences and view as a life coach and what you can do to start your journey towards it.

Element 1: Our unique Personality

The foundation for all of our endeavours in life that are supposed to bring meaning to it, start with our personality. In other words: the understanding of our unique abilities based on talent, passion and our own life's teachings.

Within this definition lies already a major key towards meaning. The more we have captured our own self and can express it to the world, the stronger we feel a sense of belonging and meaning. When Picasso talks about "your gift", in my view he refers to this.

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away! (Pablo Picasso)

What are situations you thrive in, get into a state of flow, feel uplifting energy, forget time completely and immerse yourself into whatever activity is ongoing? Be curious and proactively find vocabulary for what makes you you!

For many of my clients, it is a special moment when they realise why their last job(s) or career wasn’t the right one because it so did not fit to their natural way of living and expressing themselves. This is usually followed by a deep curiosity about their personal needs and how to best create spaces and interactions that speak to those needs.

The following elements are all related to how you can bring the clarity about your unique personality to life.

Element 2: Inspiring Vision

Imagine your personality is liquid glass and now you are searching the right mould to pour it into. This is what a vision can do for you. The underlying thought here is to become intentional about where you want to go.

Be creative and bold when designing a vision, use pictures or other forms of media and establish a routine that supports you in remembering it. Lastly, break it down until you have actionable items.

Do not let your life be a coincidence - become active in shaping it the way you need it!

But also be cautious not to do the mistake and become emotionally attached to that vision. Use it as a guiding star, a direction, but not an exact outcome that has to come true otherwise you are not happy, worthy or have meaning. Therefore I usually use the term "intention" to make this point clear. The space of possible outcomes remains wide open talking about an intention rather than a fixed vision.

Element 3: Energising Purpose

With a vision you know in what direction to go and purpose provides you the energy along the way!

I worked for almost 20 years in the automotive industry and this context allowed me to learn a lot. All the people, places, projects created unique experiences to me and helped me to establish myself in this world. But in the end I felt empty and without motivation. Although I had moments of joy, I simply didn’t have enough opportunities to express my personality. My engine, the underlying WHY of my actions, was no longer present, so I decided to make a change.

Purpose is the energy that fuels you every day while heading towards your vision.

Actually both, the macro purpose on the top level of my former employer and the micro purpose that I experience in my daily office life, didn’t fit anymore.

Saying this already implies that there can be more than 1 purpose and also purpose can change over time. But ultimately there is a purpose that is connected to your personality that fuels you with energy and meaning. THAT is the one I refer to as the underlying energy center.

A quick way to approach this is to make a list of everything you are good at and match it with a second list of all things that you love to do. You will get some hints on where you purpose might be.

If you are curious about how strong your purpose is at the moment, do the Purpose Quiz below and follow up with the recommended actions.

Without purpose you might lose energy and motivation, so if you feel like you are in a place like that, start digging :-)

Element 4: Beliefs and Mindset

Even with an understanding of your personality, a guiding vision and an energising purpose, you might just not get into change or increase your life's quality. In that case a closer look on your mindset might be helpful as often it is the main factor holding us back.

Mindset related work can be split into 2 main parts:

• Encountering and letting go of old thought patterns (limiting beliefs, inner child) that hold you back via negative thoughts and associated emotions
• Creating a growth mindset that supports you maintaining your momentum and overcome times of lower energy

We grow up in a context of domination in our young years as parents, family, siblings, teachers and friends tell us what to do and what not. The underlying pattern of "do this and then you will get social acceptance, love and recognition" make us create behaviours and thought patterns that ensure our survival in these years and they have their right to exist at that point!

Once you change, everything changes.

But once we are grown up, we struggle with letting go of these pattern because often we are not aware of them at all. So identifying such beliefs and create mechanisms to turn them into gifts of learning, empathy and growths opportunities is key to make things happen and elevate your wellbeing!

Once your mindset is addressed you are set free to take inspired action!

Element 5: Intentional Action

If missing information would be the biggest obstacle on our way to a meaningful life, everyone with an internet access would live the "perfect life", right! :-)

So after clearing the way with a strong mindset, vision and purpose, we come to the point of action. Taking action can be the greatest strategy to overcome our boundaries and proof to ourselves that we are able to create our own life.

It is important not to lose track and align vision and concrete actions with each other. So do a vision and dream big and create actions that are small and easy. That is the formula towards ongoing momentum and long-lasting results. Combine what you want with what you do, give yourself time and stay in your energy. Make an action plan and update it frequently, learn why you haven't followed up or why things went well.

Combine these 5 elements into your unique approach can bring you on the path towards a meaningful life.

And along this process do not forget: HAVE FUN!

I am curious about your experiences and where you will put an emphasis for you.

Please feel free to share them below.

Yours,

Peter

Thank you for reading this article. My mission is to work as a pathfinder for others so they can make empowered decisions and create the life they desire.

If you long for clarity but are not sure what your next move is, then book an exploration call and we start working on your way of expressing your personality in the best way or do the Purpose Quiz to get a first insight.

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