Two Ways to Fulfil Your Purpose

Fulfil Your Purpose

Why are you here? What are you devoting your life to? What’s your purpose in life?

It seems that more than ever we’re wanting meaning in our lives. I think it’s a function of the rate of change – the more environmental hints change the more we need to rely on our own compass for direction. Also, following from Victor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning (worth reading!), it’s been shown that having meaning and purpose in our lives is a pathway to resilience and happiness.

So how do you do this? How do you fulfil your purpose? I think there are two distinct pathways.

1 Get clear on the destination

Most people want to be clear on where they’re going before they set off on the journey. And, many people despair because they don’t know what their purpose is in life.

I believe the big mistake people make is that they are waiting for a sign of divine inspiration to say what their purpose should be. Something along the lines of the clouds parting and your God peering down and pointing her finger at you and in a strong loud voice bellowing: “You will be…”

I don’t think it works like this. I believe you create your purpose. And, this is one of the reasons that I became interested in Manifestos. It’s all about declaring what you want to have happen. What’s is the future you want to see or create for yourself? By taking on this challenge this becomes a purpose for you.

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2 Take the Next Step

The second approach to fulfil your purpose solves the problem of commitment for those pursuing the previous strategy. Instead of trying to come up with a purpose that you will commit to for the rest of your life, it simply says ‘take the next step – and only the next step’.

Simply start something. And, it almost doesn’t matter what you choose. Simply declare that you’re going to focus on this for the next 90 days and see what happens. The key to this strategy is that action provides insight.

Consider the example of a mountain climber or a cyclist pedalling up a big hill. As we make our journey to the top the view around us naturally changes. And, if you’re open to the new possibilities as you climb to the top you may just find what really excites you.

This is approach we take in our 90 Day Product Creation Program. Some people are clear on their destination and others are not. So, my suggestion is to simply play 100% for the next 90 days on something. From this you’ll learn the next step and then the next and so on…

Comment: Love to hear what your purpose is and how you decided upon this. Plus the action you take to fulfil your purpose.