Many of us find ourselves stuck in the drudgery of life. Since we were children, we’ve been told we cannot have our cake and eat it. We’ve been led to believe we cannot make a living doing what we love, and living our life purpose. Those who did try to break free often stumbled because we gave in to our fears of failure—or we even experienced the failure and decided the pain was too much to bear.
How Does One Find One’s Life Purpose?
The thing is, each one of us has a unique purpose, something only this person can do. When we embrace that skill, our experience of life flourishes and we expand and grow exponentially, but when we deny it, push it aside and say, “this is not for me” or “it’s just a pipe dream,” we chain ourselves to depression, anxiety and the darkness of a living death.
Some of us have spent such a long time denying our true selves and pushing aside the unique purpose for our existence that we’ve let it slip away. It’s a long-forgotten dream lying on the ash heap of a childhood we want to forget.
The crucial first step in discovering your soul’s purpose comes when you pay attention to your longing and your discontent. What is the one thing you’d love to do if circumstance allowed (longing)? What is the one thing in your life that fills the wellspring of unhappiness and makes you feel trapped (discontent)?
It is by exploring these ideas that we can formulate the first seeds of our deep-seated dreams and expand upon that to discover what it is in this life we are here to do.
The Companion’s Tale, A Guide to Exploring Possibilities
The Companion’s Tale is the first book in The Wordmage’s Tales series, a collection of stand-alone novellas that explore our human potential for transformation and ability to achieve success in the face of adversity. This first book in the series follows Elaine, a young woman who’s never had a chance to choose anything for herself.
A tragic accident leaves Elaine in a very difficult situation: the purpose she’s been told by others that she fulfils is suddenly void. From one minute to the next, Elaine believes she doesn’t have a purpose in life anymore because the one thing she’s been told to do her whole life is suddenly taken away by circumstance. And it is out of this opportunity that Elaine begins to ask herself, what do I want? This is something she’s never before allowed herself to entertain.
Let’s apply Elaine’s case. Thake this moment to explore your own possibilities. If you were suddenly freed of every obligation you feel you have, if your circumstances changed drastically allowing you the time, money and personal freedom to do anything you wish for, what would that be?
I’m going to repeat the question and let you take a moment to really think about it.
If you were free of every obligation, if your circumstances changed allowing you the time, money and personal freedom to do anything you want, what would that be?
The Power of Writing It Down
Once we’ve explored the first seeds of our true life purpose, it’s important to write down what it is our heart and mind are formulating. When we imagine things, we’re using our right brain hemisphere. It’s the creative, unconstrained part of our thinking processes. Make the most of that. Imagine, down to the last detail, what your life would be like if you nurtured the seed that came to mind above. What could your life look like if you embraced this possibility?
When you’ve formulated this in your mind, it’s time to take out a pen and paper and write it down. Writing something by hand uses your left brain hemisphere, so when you take what you’ve imagined with the right brain and transfer it onto paper with the left brain, you’re giving your brain and body the power to really focus on this chance. Combining left and right hemispheres allows you to focus all of your brain power onto making this possibility a reality in your life.
Testing the Dream and Ensuring It Really Is Right for Us
Because we’re in the process of defining a dream, we also have to test that the germinating idea is really right for us. If you simply go with the very first thought, without making absolutely sure it’s in alignment with who you are, you’re likely to give up at the first stumbling block. When something we do doesn’t fully align with our deeper selves, we end up in a conflict between what we’re trying to implement through will and what our truest inner self says we should be doing. In order to avoid this conflict, we test the dream when it’s still in the first stages so we can be certain to align it with our true life’s purpose.
How do you test a dream? How do you test an intention? Answer these questions:
#1. Does It Give Me More Life?
The thing you want to pursue, the activity that’s in harmony with who you are will make your blood sizzle with excitement. Doing this thing is going to have you bouncing out of bed every morning. If the idea you formulated above doesn’t make you want to jump up and down for the joy of getting started, then it is advisable to go back to the formulation phase, reassess and re-examine your longing and discontent so you can find your true life purpose. If you’re not dog-wagging-its-tail-off excited to do this, then it doesn’t pass the test. Does it give you more life?
Read more about: The Life Changing Benefits of Defining Your Purpose
#2. Does It Require That I Grow?
The biggest gift of pursuing our true purpose is that we become our most exalted selves in the process. If pursuing the idea you wrote down earlier doesn’t require any changes in your life, and specifically, if it doesn’t mean you’re going to have to change some habits, then it’s a worthy goal, but not your life’s purpose. Your life’s purpose will always require you to be your best self. It’s going to need you to let go of those bad habits you know you have.
And yes, I understand that is daunting, but put that anxiety aside right now. We’re just testing the dream, making sure this is really what you want. So, does it require that you grow, that some things change in your life and habits? If yes, keep going. If no, go back to answering the question about your longing and discontent. Dig deeper, write more and explore your possibilities until you find the thing that will give you life when you reach it and requires that you grow to get there.
#3. Is the Dream Worthy of Me?
I caught you out with this one, didn’t I? Most of us have been led to believe we should be checking whether we’re worthy of pursuing our dreams. That is false. It is an untruth we present ourselves with because that makes things easier. Going after a dream is never easy. As we’ve mentioned, it’s going to require change and that’s not always fun either (although it can be if we let it). Saying we’re not worthy is an easy way to sweep it under the carpet, say we tried, but there’s nothing to be done. In actual fact, the journey is worth it simply because of the virtue of trying.
But most importantly, worth can never be questioned when it comes to a person. Every person is worthy simply by the virtue of being. Look at whichever faith you follow. All doctrines include this truth, even if they cloak it in some way. You are worthy. Now, test that dream.
So-back to the question. How can you tell if the dream you’re envisioning is worthy of you? Take a look at your core values. There are simple tests you can find online that help you discover your core values. If what you wrote earlier is in alignment with your core values, then you’re ready to go.
If it doesn’t align, you may need to tweak your idea to fall into place properly, or you might need to go back to the drawing board and explore your longing and discontent more. When you find what truly aligns with your core values, you’ll light up like Diwali, the Hindu festival of light.
The Artist and His Muse, Illustrating the Power of Decision
The Artist and His Muse is another book in The Wordmage’s Tales series and this one focuses on how making a decision is a crucial aspect in embracing our life’s purpose. You can sit and dream all you want. You can make up the most wonderful life based on your potential, but if you don’t decide to go after it and make it a reality, that’s where your dream will end.
Darla, the muse, has been living on the streets for almost a decade. She ran away from a difficult situation and has been hiding from her past life. But doing so has kept her trapped, because all her focus is on simply surviving. She is unable to give herself any expression because she has cut herself off from everything: her family, society, etc. We are human and we cannot live in an individualist bubble. We cannot do everything on our own (but that’s a point for another time).
In Darla’s case, it takes opening up to possibility (in the form of meeting a new person and actually embracing the opportunity of friendship) and getting into a situation where someone other than herself needs help-that is the moment when Darla makes a decision to face her past, right the wrongs that were committed and to use her ability to make the world a safer and more just place.
Decisions go hand in hand with actions and this is why it is so crucial to make a decision to pursue your dream. You cannot make it happen if you don’t first decide that you’re going to do it.
And now, it’s your turn. Go forth and prosper in the pursuit of your dream.
Read more about: Ways on How to Discover Your Life Purpose
