I am a big fan of Richard Leider's writings on the power of finding and living out our unique purpose in life. His website tells about his work as an "inventure coach" and has several great articles about how to find and live your purpose.
A couple of thought-provoking points he makes are:
- Just as an acorn much become an oak tree, and can only become an oak tree, so each of us has a unique purpose that we must live out.
- Finding our purpose is an ongoing part of our human journey.
- Our purpose is cannot be defined by a job title - we can live out our unique purpose whether we are the receptionist or the CEO.
- Discovering our purpose is hard work and no one else can do it for us - it involves introspection and reflection.
If you are interesting in learning more about your purpose and how to live it, you may enjoy Leider's books The Power of Purpose: Creating Meaning in Your Life and Work and Repacking Your Bags. He offers great insight and lots of practical tips along with a big helping of encouragement!
You can get started on the journey toward finding your purpose by reflecting on the following questions -maybe take the time to write out some answers in a journal:
What do really want?
How will I know when I have it?
Like point 4 says above - this is hard work. It's not easy to answer these questions, but I promise it's worth the effort!
Happy journeying!
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