Find Your Purpose 🥱 – it’s not so hard is it?
A universal message that has come through all the self-help books and psychology articles is to Find Your Purpose. And I agree with the sentiment. Having a purpose is critical to leading a fulfilled life. It’s a reason to get out of bed in the morning and motivate ourselves.
However, I always like to reconsider and challenge what I’m told to do. It’s my rebellious inner child coming out. And sometimes I struggle to Find My Purpose in life! It’s the subtext that comes with such phrases….
I might associate it with winning an Olympic gold medal, or saving the planet, or ending world poverty. And what great purposes these are. But they are HUGE! And for me working from my small desk at home, they feel unattainable, despite their importance.
As a coach, clients will often come to me to look for support in finding their purpose. They might be feeling a bit flat, with low energy and motivation. If only they could work out their mission in life!
Let’s take some role models – Usain Bolt, Greta Thunberg, Volodymyr Zelensky spring to mind – they’re solely focused on their mission: training, fighting, campaigning every day of their lives. Jamie Oliver’s Feed the Future campaign is so impressive. Thank goodness for people like this in the world. Their purpose shapes all of our lives.
But they are outliers. Most of us don’t have what they have! Perhaps they were born with it? Or their circumstances have demanded it?
When we put all of our energy searching for our own elusive mission that’s been sent by the universe – it’s exhausting and not always fulfilling. Because the phrase “Find Your Purpose” is big, intimidating and not always aligned with our reality.
So how about we shift our perspective? How about we celebrate the very ordinary human spirit that most of us have? How about we do this by finding purpose in the day to day – every day – making small differences to our lives that will add up over time?
What if your purpose today is to read this post and spend 5 minutes contemplating what it might mean for you?
What if your purpose today is to be kind to someone that really needs your help?
What if your purpose today is to sit with a friend and listen to them for 10 minutes
Or to look after yourself by taking a well-earned lunch break or exercise class?
These sounds like good purposes to me. We can find meaning in the small, everyday tasks that we need to do every day.
My purpose today is to do some ironing. I’ve got 5 shirts that need doing. I’m going to put the radio on, get the ironing board out and do the best ironing that I’ve ever done!
Small things, each day, with purpose. Not intimidating and not unattainable – I might not be saving the world but I’m feeling driven and motivated, which means I’ll show up, making my contribution to the world in my own positive way, which in turn will feed my ambition to achieve the bigger stuff.
