Discover Your Purpose: Uncover Your True Calling in Life
Every life in the universe has a specific purpose in its designated time and place. Many of us struggle to “find our purpose.” After countless sleepless nights searching for mine, I realized that our mission is to create a positive impact on others from a place of love (not from hate, guilt, shame, or intimidation).
What makes each life unique is how we create that positive impact. We can do it by inventing things, healing mental and physical diseases, sharing knowledge, or simply offering a kind gesture in a moment of need.
When we ask ourselves, “what is my purpose in life?”, what we are truly asking is “How can I lovingly create positive impact to others?” Articulating this answer could be quite challenging for some people because there are endless possibilities. It is quite normal to explore different ways of fulfilling our purpose until we find a few that truly resonate with us.
What can I do to discover how I will create a positive impact?
In his book Leader’s Greatest Return, John Maxwell explores the importance of purpose in motivating us to achieve our goals. He suggests focusing on the intersection of talent, desire, recognition, results, and growth to uncover how we can create a positive impact on others from a place of love.
To articulate your talent, reflect on what you do well… So well in fact, that you do not even consider it important because it comes “easy” to you. Keep all aspects of your life in mind, not only your strengths at work.
What do you want (or desire) to do? You may cook quite well and have the talent for it, but you may not want to be a chef. Think about what you want to engage in day in and day out, and what you want to learn more about.
What do others consistently recognize as your strengths? This question serves a dual purpose: it helps us become aware of our strengths and exposes blind spots regarding things we believe we do well but in reality, we do not.
What do you do that has productive results? Remember that productive, to a certain extent, is in the eye of the beholder. Having clarity in this area will enable you to prioritize and focus on what truly matters.
What do you do that you can keep getting better at doing (i.e., growing)? Proficiency is a powerful motivator. Starting with the basics, we learn, progress, and see improvement over time. If growth is not happening, we may use our talent for a while but then it becomes boring (at least for me).
Creating the intersection
We established that our mission in life is to create a positive impact on others through love. Let us say that one of your superpowers is understanding both the mechanics and meaning of “the numbers” (e.g., balance sheet, profit and losses, capital reserves, the stock market, etc.). This is one of your talents.
Your job is to provide input to the overall strategy based on current and projected financial results. You are respected and recognized for your expertise – people reach out to you for your point of view on specific projects.
You have been working for a while and have witnessed progress and growth. At the beginning of your career, you focused on organizing the numbers and providing readable and accurate reports. Now, you can also analyze the qualitative aspects behind the results and potential future impact.
When you net the ups and downs of your current career you realize that you enjoy it, and you desire to continue on this path.
When you think about productive results you consider the impact you and your team have on the organization and your quality of life. The former is quite clear – your team consistently meets and exceeds goals. The latter (quality of life) may manifest in having access to your company’s platforms to highlight your expertise in the industry, influence regulation or legislation, etc.
There are several positive results that could arise from your intersection of talent, desire, recognition, results, and growth with “the numbers.” Some examples include teaching your kids about the stock market at an early age, shaping your company’s strategy to increase revenues and reduce expenses, creating multiple sources of income for yourself and others, influencing legislation to benefit small and medium businesses, and the list goes on…
One more thing before you go
Our purpose in life is to create a positive impact on others through love (rather than through hate, guilt, shame, or intimidation). How we manifest our purpose is unique to each living being.
The good news is that we can devise different methods to manifest our purpose for each aspect of our life such as work, family, and community.
Instead of becoming distracted or restless by too many things at once with little or no result, we can focus on two or three approaches that align with our talents, desires, recognition, results, and growth.
By considering the type of impact we desire to have on others, we can gain clarity on how to effectively execute our life’s mission. This is a goal that is worthy of our full attention, time, and energy.
How do you want to manifest your purpose? Please, let us know in the comments.
As a leadership coach, I enable talent to achieve bold goals with high standards. My mission is to empower underrepresented women in the financial industry transition from mid to senior level leadership positions using mental fitness to achieve peak performance, peace of mind, and healthier relationships.