Life Purpose in Being Rather than Simply Doing
“So, what do you do?”
It’s a question commonly asked at business functions, cocktail hours, parties, and any social situation where strangers mingle. What the person means is, “What do you do for a living?” However, most people have become defined by their professions or family roles. Responses run the gamut: “I’m a firefighter. I’m a collector. I’m a teacher. I’m a father/mother.”
Does this mean that these quick summaries reflect your life purpose? Absolutely not. Many people today are lost, monotonously going through the motions of their day-to-day lives without knowing what their true purpose is.
Consider the executive who loses his job. He may spend a great deal of time wondering how to define himself now. He is no longer a CEO. He no longer feels powerful. What is his life? This kind of significant life change often makes people question themselves because they do not really know what their life purpose is.
Have you been defining yourself by something externally? What if we’ve been all wrong in how we look at our lives and how we spend them? Misguided thinking comes back to haunt us. Just ask anyone in a midlife crisis, during post-retirement depression, or ultimately on a deathbed of regret.
Life Purpose: What is it?
A life purpose is not reaching some pinnacle and staying there. It is not a destination. It is a journey and how you undertake that journey. It is the person you become. We are all human beings, not human doings. We must measure ourselves based on who we are, not how we do things. There is value in every single person, whether their bodies or minds function brilliantly or not.
How do you find what your life purpose is? Where is your value?
Look back at your history. Find the parts of your life when you were injured — physically, emotionally, and/or mentally. It will be painful to be this honest with yourself, but it is a vital piece to learning to fully trust yourself and your mind. Delve deep and find the wound. It will dredge up old feelings of abandonment, guilt, sadness, anger, and much more. That’s what you need so you can think clearly. These raw emotions will point you to your life purpose.
Your life purpose is to heal your wounds by acting in just the opposite manner towards others.
If you grew up in a family tainted by alcoholism, you will find fulfillment in pointing others away from alcohol. If you were verbally abused as a child, your mission would be to always speak from the heart with kindness. If you grew up in poverty, your purpose would help others escape the same life.
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Look at virtually any strong charitable organization, and you will find a story of someone wounded deeply who turned that injury into strength. John Walsh, father of a kidnapped and murdered 6-year-old, helped to create the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Mother Teresa lost her father when she was only 8, and the little girl from Macedonia grew up to found the Order of the Missionaries of Charity, caring for thousands of India’s poorest people. Similar stories are everywhere.
How Can You Ensure YOU Are Living Your Life’s Purpose?
After you have identified the wounds that fester within you, develop the warrior mind. This includes defining your own vision and mission, developing strategies, determining tactics to fulfill your vision, and maintaining the warrior mindset of firm resolve throughout.
You can do it. You can life a fulfilling life with a strong, personal purpose. You are a warrior.
