The Power of Purpose

There is no greater question to answer than what am I doing with my life? This question has been posed to every human being since the advent of time, yet it remains elusive and unanswered for many. Some additional questions follow right behind that one. What is my purpose? Why do I need a purpose? How do I know when I found my purpose?

I am a firm believer that every human being on this planet has innate value and is here for a very specific reason or purpose. There are no mistakes; there are no accidents. If you are alive, you have a reason for being here. And it turns out I am not alone in this thinking.

Victor Frankel, in his book Man's search for meaning says, "Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life; everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus, everyone's task is unique as his specific opportunity to implement it."

As mentioned in my prior posts, we need to ask ourselves the right question. The question isn't do I have a purpose or reason for being here. The real question is how well do I know and live out my purpose. It's not a question of if and one more of quality.

To understand your purpose, you must have a mission statement. A mission statement defines your goals and provides you with an internal measurement of success. Your mission statement, combined with a goal and a plan, helps to give you purpose, a path, and a way to determine your progress toward it.

Companies, organizations, nonprofits, and every one of us live under a mission statement. When it comes to mission statements, we aren't talking about the 4 paragraph platitudes-filled, meaningless word salad you find in stuffy corporate offices. We are talking about a high-octane, powerful statement that gets you up every morning, ready to take on the challenges and opportunities of the day with intensity. We are talking about a powerful statement that doesn't ever lose its energy but is actually so perpetually self-charging that others think that you are taking performance-enhancing medication.

Here are my mission statement requirements.

1. Your mission statement must be unique to you. While others might have a similar mission, if you are unique, so should your mission.
2. Your mission statement must be simple enough that a 10-year-old child could understand it. No big, fancy words to impress people. Keep it simple!
3. Every word must count and give you a sense of energy. Focus on action-oriented words.
4. It must be applicable in every situation on a daily basis. Becoming the best accountant might be a great ambition for your work life, but it's hard to translate that into your personal life.
5. You must never be able to achieve it permanently, but it is something that you strive for. As you may recall from last week's article, our aim is not perfection; it's excellence. Excellence is a journey of self-improvement.

My personal mission statement is “inspire the hearts of seekers." It checks off every one of the stated above requirements. Simple, easy to understand with action-oriented power words. I get tremendous clarity and energy when I review my mission statement. It also gives me a very simple litmus test. Living my mission makes me feel incredibly vibrant and able to do it all day long without any issues. When I am not leaving my mission, it is exhausting and hard for me to go to the next day you gonna do it again.

Living my mission would be incredibly challenging for anyone else because they were not built to do it. In the same way, if I had to do their mission, it would be very difficult. It uses my strengths to accomplish something greater than me.

So how do you find your mission? Here are a couple of ways to start.

1. Ask yourself the following questions. 1). What do I do that I get the most energy from? 2). Where do I spend my free time? 3). What words would others use to describe me? 4). What would I want people to say about me at the end of my life?
2. Write down your answers and search for any commonalities. Is there something that unites what you do personally and professionally?
3. Work with a coach. I was fortunate to work with a great coach who helped me refine my much longer mission statement into something much simpler and more powerful. It's worth investing time and money to figure out foundational items like your mission.
4. It's ok if it evolves over time. It's rare that you find your mission in 30 minutes, and it never changes. Changes in life circumstances, breakthroughs, and breakups often provide context clues as to what is working and what's not.

Nothing is more fundamental as a human being than understanding your reason for being and your purpose on this planet. It's such a rich topic that hundreds of books, essays, videos, and courses exist to help. You will find your life has significantly more meaning, value, and, dare I say, purpose. It will also help you not worry about what you are not doing or being.

So take some time this week to discover your purpose. You won't regret it!

Feedback is a gift (look for a post on this exact topic shortly), so please let me know what you think of this week's article and any suggestions for future topics. Thank you!