"The two most important days of your life are the day you are born and the day in which you discover and
Why are you born? "
Mark Twain
When we think about why we do what we do sometimes this scares us or makes us feel uncomfortable. We may think that we are not Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela, who had a great sense of purpose. That's fine! No one expects or requires from you or from me that we have an incredible life purpose and that we do great things. We simply have to understand what our true purpose is, whether it is something big or small in order to live a meaningful life.
The purpose of life is a very personal thing. Your purpose is what motivates you to do the things you do every day. Your purpose gives you clarity, meaning and gives you the direction to move forward and is your constant about all you have done and will do throughout your life. This does not mean that your purpose is the same throughout life; A common mistake about having a purpose is to think that it is something unique but it is not!
Our purpose can take many different forms. Let me give you an example. Remember when you were at school and you were trying to figure out what you wanted to do and why you wanted to do it? To answer these questions, you were already thinking about your purpose, possibly for the first time. As we move through life, great events happen that modify our perception of reality and how we see ourselves in this world.
When parents begin to feel alone at home because the children have grown up and left home or when we are on the verge of retirement, we ask ourselves, What is my purpose now? As changes occur in life and events, your purpose may have another way of being.
"There is nothing so powerful as a focused life, a life lived with purpose. The men and women who made the biggest difference in history were the most focused. "
Rick Warren
What do we have to do to find our life purpose?
I have already given you the definition of purpose but I have not provided you with the steps on how to get there. In order to find out what your true life purpose is, I suggest you think about the three basic elements that have all purpose:
1.- Passion:
You must understand what things encourage you and give you energy. To understand your passions, ask yourself the following question: What are the things I do that make me lose track of time? o What things would I do why I really like it and not for money or simply recognition?
2.- Gifts or strengths:
You must understand what your innate strengths and talents are. To discover what your gifts are, ask yourself: What tasks can I perform with great ease?
3.- Values:
You must understand what are the principles that guide your life. To understand your values, you must ask yourself: when you face difficult decisions, what factors do you consider when making a decision? o Is there a situation that makes you feel the need to do something about it?
By intersecting these three elements you can begin to discover what your true purpose is. This purpose should describe something that is unique to you derived from your gifts, your passions and your values. A purpose does not have to be just one thing, you can have a purpose for your family life and another for work. Make this simple, that is unique to you. There are no good or bad purposes, as long as it connects with your inner being and what you want to achieve in your life.
Visit the following article: "Values phrases that we must keep in mind"
The passions, the gifts and the values as a whole will serve to support your purpose and help you to live a life with real meaning. Looking at it more objectively, the passions will feed your purpose, your gifts will support your purpose and your values will guide your purpose.
When you have defined your true life purpose, you will find that you begin to be more involved in the work, you will have a greater sense of accomplishment in both private and work life. You will begin to change from doing what society says you have to do to find your own path and create your own map to get there. You need to find a purpose today, make it your own and start living it.