Life’s Purpose
Since 9/11 you need a personal history to board an airplane in the U.S. or at least an ID.
When you meet passengers on a plane, they may ask who you are and what you do. I used to tell people I was a raspberry salesman just to notice their response. I haven’t worked up the gumption to identify myself as a child of the universe or formless spirit yet, but that day may be coming. So how do we identify ourselves in the meantime?
I’m someone with a purpose comes to mind.
Do you have a purpose? What are you allowing to flow through you for everyone’s consumption?
I can remember being stuck in a career for a long time because of the money it paid. I was going through the moves, and because of some developed discipline, I was able to pull off doing the job successfully, but the warm fuzzies were few and far between. My purpose at that time was to remain employed, look forward to the weekends, long weekends, vacations and holidays. That left over 200 days a year of me looking forward.
The difficulty of the “someday” philosophy is that, even when it comes, it’s anti-climactic in nature. Much of the time you look forward to includes taking time to decompress from your week or whatever, and taking the more time to ramp up for your return to your dreaded, purposeless existence.
Many people go on the search of “Who am I?” That usually puts you into a thought loop that never ends. It’s like trying to consciously figure out infinity. A more productive thing to wonder about is, “What’s my purpose?”
There are clues being left for you like a trail of breadcrumbs to follow. One of those trail markers is your natural skill set. What natural abilities do you have? What does everyone who knows you say about you? “You’re good with people,” you work well with your hands,” “you’re a born salesman,” “kids love you,” “you are a wonderful communicator” are just some of the signposts.
Next, there is your personal passion. What can you get lost in for hours at a time without thinking about anything else? This is another clue.
Your body is the ultimate clue sensor. What activity or pursuit delivers the most contentment in your body?
You may have a developed skill set for a purpose that delivers none of the body contentment I have just described. That is not your purpose. It may be a stepping stone to your real purpose but it lacks the warm fuzzy factor.
I remember reading something many years ago that has stuck with me. It said, “Find your style by the time you are forty.” If you are 40 or over, it’s time to find your purpose.
This isn’t a prescription to be a stick in the mud or not to try anything new after a certain age. It’s more about noticing that the key to finding yourself cannot be achieved without finding your purpose.
Purpose leads to the free flowing, unmistakable you.
Make today the launching pad for finding your purpose. If you’ve already found it, congratulations! Now take the time to help someone else find theirs. The more people with a purpose, the friendlier and more peaceful the world becomes.
All the best,
John
http://cdbaby.com/cd/johnmorgan
http://www.cafepress.com/grasshoppernote/3580301
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