Why Finding Your Purpose Can Help You Weather the Storm
Let’s face it, 2020 was a difficult year from both a personal and professional standpoint. More than ever before, the lines between home and work have been blurred. As parents, spouses, caretakers and leaders, we're trying hard to be innovators of change while keeping our boat from taking on too much water and ensuring everyone’s safety. It’s exhausting both physically and emotionally.
It’s really difficult to be a positive influencer of change when the storm surge just won’t let up. And if I’m being realistic about the future, more storms are forecasted. Our world is changing at a rapid pace and it’s not stopping.
Learning to Thrive
Technology and the global economy will ensure the need for speed and agility remain the norm. The way you work and live will continue to evolve, and you need to find new ways to adapt. It's imperative for you to continue to learn new skills, find new ways to inspire and serve your customers, and live a life that's filled with joy, happiness and balance. This includes stepping out of your comfort zone, taking risks and being willing to fail.
As a human, you have an innate desire to grow and improve so that you can use your full potential to take action. This is one of the foundations of the human experience. What's important to understand is that you're only able to do that once your basic survival and belonging needs are met. If those two basic needs go unmet, it's impossible for you to take the social risks that are needed for you to grow, flourish and thrive.
That means that in order for you and everyone around you to thrive, you must establish a solid foundation that will ensure everyone feels safe, loved and accepted — both personally and professionally.
This is where tapping into your purpose comes into play. Connecting to your purpose acts as an internal compass from which you can measure yourself. It serves as a grounding tool when uncomfortable situations arise or negative emotions emerge. It allows you to move forward with extraordinary focus and passion because it gives you stability. It brings clarity to who are allowing you to BE first and DO with intention.
Connecting With Your Authentic Self
The first step to finding your purpose is to connect with your internal self — your being. This is where your essential, authentic, unfiltered self lives — the one with no armor and no mask. It's the part of you that's connected to love, acceptance, value, worth, courage and gratitude.
Many of us haven’t taken the time to explore our internal beings. Why? Because we're rooted in the external world. We rely on our thoughts and ideas to do the heavy lifting, which in turn launches our emotions, beliefs and perceptions. Those in turn drive our reactions and responses. Fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, shame and guilt play a big role in this process. This causes you to pass judgement on yourself and others, and before you know it you're no longer thriving.
Most of the time, you want to DO something to get it back. It’s a vicious, never-ending cycle. Being connected with your authentic self gives you the ability to change the way you view yourself and your world so you can BE connected to your purpose and live into it.
What Does Finding Your Purpose Look Like
At our core, we all yearn to serve and improve the world we live in. You want to contribute to something that is bigger than just yourself. You want to leave your mark on the world for future generations — your children, your friends and your family. So, what is your purpose? That's such a big question. I’ve broken it down into three smaller questions so it’s not so overwhelming.
WHY
WHY are you here on this planet? Why is your destiny. This is the special traits and passion you have within you that you're longing to bring to the world to make it a better place.
BE
Who do you need to BE? Be is your character. It describes how you want to be in the world. It relates back to your WHY because it describes how you will BE as you fulfill your destiny.
DO
What are you going to DO while you're here? Do is your calling. This is where your gifts and talents intersect with your special traits and passion. Finding your calling is about aligning your life with your destiny as well as your character and taking action.
By being intentional and giving yourself permission to explore, experiment and play, you'll figure out the answers to these questions. You'll find your purpose. And when you do, you'll have the solid foundation you need to sail straight into the storm and use your authentic self to navigate successfully.