Looking ahead with purpose

“what is my purpose?”

This can be an intimidating question and thought

Truth be told, it becomes clearer the less you think about it. That may sound odd, but if you strain and search too hard you force it, and purpose in my experience, is something that presents itself.

You start the journey to discover your purpose with curiosity.

It is kind of like asking “what do you want?”. If you focus really hard on your options, you can become overwhelmed and not make a decision. Often it is best to focus on the things that you don’t want. Similarly, you can reflect on experiences and ask how they made you feel, if you got lost in the moment, if it felt effortless, if you didn’t want it to end, if it both left you wanting more and exhausted… then maybe it aligned with your purpose.

In 2022 I paid particular attention to how things made me feel. Sure, I acknowledge that there are plenty of things that didn’t make me feel so great that I accept that I just needed to do, but there were certain things that really lifted me up.

I call that feeling being ‘on purpose’.

Being a co-founder of a start-up in 2021 (independent Executives) gave me an opportunity to view previous experiences in a start-up through a new lens. This process reminded me of all the things that just need to be done, whether you like them or not, and also the things that absolutely light my fire.

The things that “lit my fire” all aligned with my purpose.

What I have come to realise, as I started to move beyond purely professional pursuits, is that purpose is just about the most important thing in life.

Big call, I know, but think about it.

For me moving from a happy and fortunate child to a dissident teen, to an ambitious twenty-something, to an unwell yet successful adult; purpose both immersed me in growth and dragged me out of holes.

If you can discover your purpose, it will change your life.

I am not saying that you should quit your job, sell your business, get divorced, and devote yourself to discovering your purpose. What I am saying is that if you start paying attention to the concept of purpose, you will only gain. You have nothing to lose. It costs nothing.

You can start by simply asking more questions of yourself, here are some questions to get you started:

• How did that experience make me feel?
• How did that conversation make me feel?
• What part of my day do I love the most?
• In the last month when did I feel most alive?
• When was the last time I felt like I was in a flow state?
• Last time I was lost in my thoughts, what was I thinking about?
• What I am most grateful for in my life?
• Why do I get out of bed in the morning?

There are some deep ones in there, so choose your own adventure.

Then, write down the answers. You can even journal to help flesh these things out. You will eventually discover your purpose.

Then what?

Well, that is when the magic begins to happen. You can run things through your purpose like a filter, you simply ask “is that on purpose, or not?” and then decide what you do*.

Have fun!

*DISCLAIMER: As eluded to above, you will still need to do things that aren’t ‘on purpose’ but see them as a vehicle to give you more time to focus on the things that do.