What do you do?
How do you like to spend your time?
Do you enjoy your job?
What wakes you up in the morning?
What are you good at?
What does success look like to you?
Today I was sitting in a meeting and somebody actually talked about that very subject. It was a conversation related to the purpose of the meeting and their role in serving the organization. They were serious. They didn’t just want to get out of a meeting. I contemplated this at a deeper level. This is something that rarely occurs in the company of others but is often an internal quest for meaning and significance.
I thought to myself years ago, what is my own purpose for why I am serving in the role and organization that I occupy. I have long since answered the biggest question since my relationship with Christ formed my very identity. I have come to terms with the question of whose am I? I recently wrote an article related to this particular perspective.
The challenge for all of us is to develop our life purpose as well as the set of values that guide or direct our lives. I remember how important it was for me to know what I wanted on quite a few different occasions but most especially when I purchased a vehicle. I know, it’s a strange metaphor but hold on tight.
One of the first vehicles that I ever purchased from a dealership reminds me of a lesson that I’ll never forget. I casually browsed vehicles in the parking lot at the dealership I was confronted by a salesman who was rather pushy and convincing. You know those occasions all too well. Someone has something to sell and you have something you need or even thought you needed.
There I was with the salesman trying to decide how much luxury I really needed in a vehicle. Do I really need power steering? Yes, it was quite a long time ago and that was an option. Other questions that have often played me by salesman at dealerships as whether I want to comfy seats or automatic transmission or even power windows.
I really did not think it through and was compelled to purchase something more than I really needed. I paid more money for the bells and whistle’s that were clearly options that I did not need. I remember telling my wife and telling her that I had purchased a new vehicle and her name needed to be on the signature loan.
I think often about how life will either take control or I will maintain my own free well. In other words, if I don’t know where I’m going there’s a good chance that somebody else will take me where they’re going. Life has a way of taking you for a ride unless you take control yourself.
It takes time to develop your life purpose. Once you get there, it will guide and inform your decisions. I love what Brendon Burchard once wrote in his best seller, “When you knock on the door of opportunity, do not be surprised that it is Work who answers.”
Today I have a better developed understanding of myself in more control of my profession and data day outlook. I have a better handle on what I need in life. What I’ve learned through the years is to ask myself three significant questions to better design for my life calling both personally and spiritually. The first question often asked is what do I want out of life? I am defined in part by the faith in Christ who answers this question on what God has designed. I have found it helpful to answer the question first of who’s I am? After this, I can ascertain the rest of the quest of mission and purpose. Instead of answering the question on purely selfish motivations, I look to God‘s call on my life so therefore these three questions derive their meaning from the very basis of my spiritual been being.
So let me take a stab at these three questions and encourage you to write down your mission statement and purpose that you choose as you ask yourself….
Consider first what Simon Sinek said about purpose:
“Not only did discovering my WHY renew my passion, it gave me a filter to make better decisions. It offered me a new lens through which I would see the world differently.” - Simon Sinek
1. If I could find peace and meaning in life doing anything, what words would you use to describe that in under 20 words? You might call this your purpose statement.
2. What are the top three strengths that I believe that I have that will help me for fill the first question? Not write those out and under 10 words each that point to how I fulfill that first question. We might call these The evidence of how you plan to implement your purpose.
3. What is most important to you? List at least five values that you live by, naming what is priority for you.
4. Now to make all of this step-by-step and actionable. Ask yourself, what can I do today that would help me reach my purpose? Also ask yourself, what can I do over the next six months and then what can I do in the next 3 to 5 years?
5. Now is one of the most important aspects of defining in your life-calling. In a short sentence, incorporating the expressions from the first three questions, ask yourself, why am I here? Defining your mission is most essential and would be at the top of your sheet once you’ve completed this exercise. You might start with the phrase, “the main reason I exist is to...”
Going back to the question of why been most essential means discerning from everything else the distinctive that sets you apart from others while at the same time being relevant to accomplishing a list of Strank’s, objectives, personal values, and goals.
In short order you should be able to accomplish at least the initial draft of the question who am I and why am I here? As you review the objective consider the following by Simon Sinek.
Read more on this topic - 10 Life Purpose Tips to Help You Find Your Passion.
