Find Your Compass

How to live a Purposeful life?

"To live your life’s purpose means doing what ou love to do, doing what you’re good at, and accomplishing what’s important to you" - Jack Canfield, Author of Chicken Soup for the Soul

"Each one of us is unique So is our purpose"

You are tailor-made for your purpose. If someone else was meant to accomplish your purpose, then there was no need for you to be in this world.

Your very existence at this planet is an indication that some purpose does exist for you. You and your purpose are supposed to co-exist. Your purpose and you are part of the same story, same journey, and same destination. You must make a conscious effort to find the other part of your story. And if you are still alive, it means the job you were sent to complete is still unfinished.

So what are you here for? Ignoring this question is not the solution. Choosing to sleepwalk through life without knowing why you are here is criminal. Every Tick of the clock is basically a reminder to you to live your life on purpose. Purpose is the answer to the question of why are you here, what are you here for, what is your agenda for landing at this planet, what is your reason of existence, and what is it that you are here to accomplish?

THE COMPASS

The best metaphor for explaining purpose is a ‘compass’. Like a compass, your purpose gives you the sense of direction. The compass is a blessing for the lost travelers. Similarly, purpose is a blessing for those who are off their path and feel lost.

Let me ask you a couple of question to know whether or not you have a clear sense of purpose in life. Do you exactly understand the meaning of your life?

Do you think there is something in your life that is so important to you that you can give up everything for that?

Can you clearly see how will you play your part to improve the lives of people on this planet? How and where do you think you can leave your mark?

Have you ever thought about the way you would like to be remembered? Did you ever try listening to your life’s calling? or you are still waiting?

Most of us struggle to find the answers to these questions. We are so busy in chasing life that we fail to find time to reflect on the meaning and purpose of our existence on this planet. Who brought us here and what does He wants us to do for Him? It never occurs to most of us to devote some quality time to find answers to the most critical questions of our life. If you are one of those who feel lost, don’t worry. It is pretty common. I have been lost for good 24 years as well. However, my experience is, when you are ready to change course you get unexpected magical support. The best beginning would be to start finding ways to serve others wherever you possibly can. Because when we choose to serve others, purpose invariably finds us.

WHY PURPOSE?

“Know what success really means to you. Find out what it is that brings true meaning to your life. What makes each day important for you and then focus on it” - Warren Buffett

Why live on purpose? Because having a sense of purpose and heading toward it gives you a feeling of direction. You know deep inside that you are accomplishing something significant and getting to a meaningful place. Purpose gives you a reason to get out of bed with a smile every morning and look forward to what the day will bring. Also, it gives you a yardstick to measure the distance between where you are and where you are destined to be.

A life lived with purpose gives you confidence, a sense of triumph, and a feeling of gratification. Purpose puts a bounce in your step and ensures you a mind full of vigor.

When you decide to live your purpose, it gives you a direction to navigate more forcefully through the turbulent waters.

Purpose reinforces your will to handle challenges, solve problems, manage turmoil and bounce back from setbacks to continue what you are meant to accomplish.

GOAL / PURPOSE

Goal and purpose are normally interchangeably used. Nonetheless, to me purpose and goal are two different creatures. They are two banks of the same canal.

Let’s explore the key distinctions between the two most important concepts. If you wish to create a great life, the following points will help you a great deal.

TIME: Goal has a clear starting and finishing line. However, purpose is a never ending quest. One purpose can accommodate multiple goals with numerous beginnings and ending.

COMPLETION: Goal can be achieved with dedicated effort. Yet, no matter how much effort you put in to pursue your purpose, it will never be fully achieved. Shocked? If you are following the true purpose, your whole life will be consumed in pursuit of your purpose yet you will still believe there is a lot still undone.

JOY: The satisfaction and pleasure you experience upon achieving a goal is short lived. You may temporarily feel the sense of joy but soon the sense of joy fades.

However, even if you achieve the tiniest portion of your purpose, the joy and satisfaction you experience is lasting, durable and eternal.

VALUE: Goal, if achieved, produces value for you only. Purpose, when achieved, generates tremendous value, benefits, and advantages to others.

FOCUS: While chasing a goal, you glorify yourself and ignore people. But when you chase a purpose, you glorify God and serve people.

IMPACT: The effect of achieving a goal is normally short term.

Conversely, realization of a purpose has long term lifelong effects on generations to come.

FEELING: Reaching a goal gives you sense of achievement. Attaining a purpose provides you a feeling of fulfillment.

DIRECTION: Goal urges you to get as much as you can whereas purpose inspires you to give as much as you can.

KEY POINT: A tiny shift in direction can turn a goal into purpose. And that tiny shift is re-thinking the reasons for undertaking any goal.

If you build intent to serve others through the same goal, and withdraw from the desire to serve yourself; it automatically earns the credentials to be titled as a purpose.

CONVERTING GOAL INTO PURPOSE

“I truly believe that everything that we do and everyone that we meet is put in our path for a purpose.There are no accidents; we’re all teachers - if we’re willing to pay attention to the lessons we learn, trust our positive instincts and not be afraid to take risks or wait for some miracle to come knocking at our door”- Marla Gibbs

I have three good news for you.

You have the power and guts to pursue your bigger purpose of life.

At the same time, every single moment you have the opportunity to bring purposefulness in everything you do on a day to day basis.

Also you can build an alignment between whatever you do to the overall reason of your being.

Once you make a decision to live on purpose, the invigorating sense of purpose will be reflected in almost every action of yours. For instance, you set out to make a presentation to a very high-profile audience.

If you have a goal driven, self-serving thinking, you will feel the pressure. The stress will exhaust you. You know why? Because you need the audience to like you, admire you, appreciate your work, approve your idea, or do business with you.

Since what you need is in their hand and you are not sure whether they will give you what you need as a ‘taker’, you will feel anxiety, nervousness and worry. This goal-centered thinking will be reflected through your words, body language and actions. On the other hand, if you are purpose-centric, you arrive at the place as a ‘giver’. You let your sense of purpose guide your thoughts and behavior. Your focus is shifted from what you can get to what you can give. You are making your best efforts so that your presentation can serve them the best. Instead of worrying about yourself, you are focused on giving participants a feeling of comfort, confidence and relaxation. You are committed to give them the best return on the time they have invested in attending your presentation. You promise to help them and provide them more value. You commit to contribute. You try your best to reducing some of their anxieties, pressures and concerns. You focus on finding ways so that your presentation can bring about a positive change in their lives. What is happening here? You have shifted your focus from your needs (what you want) to their needs (what do they want). Their needs and wishes have become the focal point of your efforts.

Your objective is no more to win their approval, admiration or appreciation. You are not going there to get something; you are going there to give. The shift in thinking will shift the center of your energies. Instead of worrying about the presentation, you will organize your material in a way that excites your audience. Givers feel no pressures. They move their attention away from the outcome and put the spotlight on the purpose. When participants see the value in your work and get what they want, you are actually increasing your chances of getting what you want? When you focus on giving, you automatically get what you want. In a nutshell, if you aim to do something that will bring benefit to you, you chase a goal. When you do the same thing so that others can benefit, you bring purpose in the picture. A goal is about getting, whereas purpose is about giving. Here is some food for thought for all those who wish to create a successful and prosperous future for them.

"The world gives to the givers and takes from the takers."

Start performing your duties with a reason to facilitate and support others. Your reason should be to helps others shine, to kindle their growth and improve their quality of life.

By doing so, each moment of your life will be consumed in pursuit of your purpose. This will automatically improve your own quality of life. Success begins when you convert a goal into a purpose.

Ask yourself: ‘What can I do to discover the purpose God has created me to accomplish right now?

TEST OF PURPOSE

The simplest definition of purpose is ‘giving’. Wherever you are right now and whatever you are doing at the moment, stop doing it and ask yourself this simple question: Is my intent here to give or get? Am I intending to give or get?

The shortest test of whether or not someone is following purpose is this:

Who is this act serving, you or others? If it is serving you only, it’s not purpose based. If it is serving others, it surely is.

How does ‘giving’ figure in this? It means evaluating the deep-down intentions and reasons behind your decisions to carry out the projects, schemes, and ventures in your life.

If your sole intent behind doing something is to secure benefits, rewards and prizes for your own self, this is not purpose. If the focus is only on getting, your endeavors lack a sense of purpose.

However, if you are doing it to ‘give’ that undoubtedly is purpose driven. Can you see the very small, but distinct difference of intent here? When embarking on a job, if you focus only on what you are getting out of it, you will make no progress. On the other hand, if your focus is on how you can contribute more, and use this as an opportunity to bring value and benefit to others, you are not only getting closer to meaningful purpose, you are also sowing the seeds of enduring success for yourself.

FINDING YOUR PURPOSE

The journey to discover your life’s purpose helps you discern your deepest motivations and brings greater clarity and focus to every day and every facet of your life.

It inspires you to be all that you can be and to live an ever richer, fuller life. To explore this

in detail, read Dr. Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention, a deeply inspiring book intended to awaken you to your full potential. Discovering your purpose will take some effort on your part, but the return on your investment will be tremendous.

The process of living your purpose starts with the knowing what your purpose is. I am sharing with you a simple set of questions to probe into it:

STEP 01: Choose a group or segment of society that you feel excited about serving.

STEP 02: How do you want their lives to be changed? What impact your serving them will have on them? What will they be able to accomplish?

STEP 03: What specific talent, ability and skill

you will be using to make it happen for them? How would you make it possible?

LIVING ON PURPOSE

There is no shortcut to living a purposeful life. Below is the step by step process you must follow to make sure that you are connected with your purpose.

LISTEN: Show willingness and commitment to listen to your inner calling. You will have to stop listening to everyone else and pay complete attention to what your innermost voice is trying to tell you.

VERIFY: Make sure that the call you are responding to is the real one, not a false alarm.Many spend lot of time trailing a purpose and then changing path realizing it was not something coming from the core of their heart. They mistakenly took that ‘fake’ call as real.

FOLLOW: Take immediate action to begin the journey of following the path. Tracking the path will require energy, patience and full devotion.

FAMILIARIZE: Develop a trusting relationship with your purpose, making your purpose your most important partner.

FLIGHT: The expedition to follow your purpose is not a part time job. It is a full time commitment. It’s a binding to consistently move toward it with speed, accuracy and sense of urgency.

LINE-UP: Once you take off for ‘purpose flight’, all your attitudes, behaviors, abilities, skills, competencies and capacities should be aligned in the same direction.

REVIEW: Periodically take time out to see how much distance you have already covered. What major milestones are waiting ahead? Review your progress on a regular basis. And don’t forget to celebrate small victories.

"The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others." - Albert Schweitzer

ACTIONS

- Find your overall purpose of life.

- Develop a sense of purpose in anything you

do in life.

It is never too late to find your purpose.