What Is My Purpose?
by Helaine Iris
"When I chased after money, I never had enough. When I got my life on purpose and focused on giving of myself and everything that arrived into my life, then I was prosperous." --Wayne Dyer
For most of my life I can remember asking myself the question, “Who am I and why am I here?” My answer to myself often left me feeling empty and wondering if I would ever know my true life’s purpose.
As a child and young woman, I didn’t have a grand dream or calling that I could remember. I was interested in a lot of different things and wasn’t afraid to explore. My parents, both successful individuals didn’t have glamorous careers or speak of lofty visions of achievement. Growing up with them, I knew I would get married, have a family and find something meaningful in the world that I would hope to find fulfillment in.
I found many gratifying things to do over the course of my life, I was a dancer, practiced as a midwife, owned a few businesses, and worked as a women’s health counselor. Although I appreciated these many opportunities and some of them were quite rewarding none of them ever hit the mark.
Left with a nagging feeling of dissatisfaction, there HAD to be something more to life. I kept looking for that one perfect opportunity, the reason for my being, and the fulfillment of my purpose! Just like the predictability of the seasons I kept asking myself, “Who am I and why am I here?” I was convinced that what I DID defined who I was and I discovered I wasn’t alone in this assumption.
If you ask a hundred people how they would define purpose they often respond by saying, purpose is what we are meant to “do” while we’re here on earth; it’s how we make a difference in the world utilizing our gifts and talents. This conventional perspective relies on the ability to somehow know or stumble across that magic thing that is your destiny to fulfill. No wonder many people go through life wondering what their purpose is and not feeling satisfied.
I began to look at purpose from a new and exciting perspective. Instead of purpose being my “doing-ness” in life, my purpose is my “being-ness”.
Your life purpose is the context or vessel that HOLDS your life suggests Dr. W. Bradford Swift, founder of the Life On Purpose Institute and author of “Traveling the Purpose Path”. Imagine a beautiful jeweled goblet as your life purpose and the glorious wine within it your life. Can you see how your life purpose can shape your whole life as well as give it form and direction?
Your life purpose, that beautiful vessel is a combination of three things: who you are at the very core, your vision for yourself and what you see possible for the world and your values. When I began to answer my own question, “who am I and why am I here” from this perspective a whole new world of fresh possibility opened up for me.
Can you imagine everything you do in your life pouring from this purposeful vessel of your being-ness? Imagine everything you engage in from doing the dishes to leading a board meeting as a direct expression of your life purpose. How would you feel?
Here are some questions to consider helping you begin to clarify YOUR life purpose.
1. Who are you deep down? What do you love and what makes your heart sing?
2. When you are engaged in life and you are at your best, who are you being underneath what you are doing?
3. What is your vision for yourself and what do you see possible?
4. What are your values, the principals that guide your life?
In these simple yet powerful questions I discovered my being-ness. I now know who I am and why I’m here. I learned that deep sense of fulfillment, which we are all seeking, comes from just being me.
Soon after I clarified my life purpose I had a powerful experience. I was driving down the road on my way to pick up my daughter. I heard that old familiar thought pop up again, “who am I and why am I here?” I immediately became present to the truth and beauty of my life purpose:
“A life on purpose is a life of courage, creative expression, conscious awareness and abundant possibility through authentic being and clear compassionate service and love.”
My heart opened and tears came to my eyes…I realized I never had to ask myself that question again.
It’s your life…imagine the possibilities.
http://www.businessknowhow.com/growth/whatispurp.htm
