Explore Your Life’s Purpose: A Simple Exercise
Have you known anyone who has felt stuck? Perhaps this person doesn't have the job they want, or the relationship, or the financial situation. This person probably knows what it is they don’t want, but have they ever taken the time to figure out what it is they DO want?
Let’s take you and me for instance. Rather than answering with generalities like a job that “pays more” or “is closer to home” or “to find your soulmate” or “to be rich”, let’s commit to thinking about being as specific as possible.
What do YOU desire your ideal life to look like?
What are you doing and how are you ‘being’ in order for your life to be more fulfilling and meaningful?
Let’s play a quick visualization game. You’ve won the lottery today, and suddenly you’re a multimillionaire!
What becomes the vision for the rest of your life?
Will you continue working at your job?
Will you spend more time with your family or travel the world?
Will you start your own business or spend more time with your hobbies?
Take some time to dream about the possibilities. Then, take out a piece of paper and write down your dream in vivid detail.
On my adventure of who I am designed to be through the perspective of Human Design, I discovered my Conscious Earth, also known as the Patient Dreamer. This particular gate is all about what grounds me, which is to seek experiences and evolve my dreams through fulfillment of those dreams - creating my own reality of what I deeply desire for my life. This is all about experiencing the transformations and understanding the meaning of Divine timing in its truest form. Over the past year, what I began to become more aware of was how I was operating more like an uncertain dreamer than a patient surrendered one.
Each time I would settle myself and complete this simple visualization for my life, I could feel the fear creeping in, and the pattern of avoiding divine timing, which would result in stopping the dream right in its tracks. Cue anger and frustration, my not-self theme.
Do you know anyone who’s felt the same way about their unfulfilled vision for their life?
Some of the wisdom I gained through my deep dive into this gate was that it supplies me with the energy to honor my hopes and dreams and see visions of a different and brighter future. My body has learned to use my mind as a playground of creativity and big dreams.
Do you dream big?
Back to our exercise. Now, take a few moments to write down a list of the things that are most important to you in your life. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What things are most important in your life? These are the things you are willing to devote time and energy to each day. They can be things like:
Family
Friends
Faith/ Spirituality
Personal growth
Having a Healthy Lifestyle
Having your finances in order
Work/life balance
Maintaining a loving relationship with your significant other
Being happy at work
Being organized and using time wisely
Participating in the hobbies you enjoy
Making a difference in the world
Setting priorities is important because we often have so much going on in our lives at once that we lose track of who we are and what we want out of life. We end up putting out one fire only to be confronted with yet another that takes its place. With so many things on our plate at once, it’s easy to neglect ourselves, our friends and our family.
When you are finished writing your list, take a few moments to prioritize them on a scale starting with “1” as the most important. Finally, take a few moments to think about these questions:
What am I most passionate about?
What would inspire me to get out of bed at 5AM on a Saturday morning?
What haven’t I experienced yet that I’ve always wanted to?
What haven’t I given yet that I’ve always wanted to?
What haven’t I learned yet that I’ve always wanted to?
What part of me haven’t I healed yet that I still need to?
Am I doing now what I really want to do?
If not, do I even know what I’d really like to do?
What can I do to serve others?
Write down the answers on your paper. These should be your honest answers – not what you should do or that others expect you to do. Once you’ve done this exercise, combine all your answers into a life’s purpose statement. Your purpose statement will answer the question “Why am I here? What is my true calling in life?” You get to define yours, so what do you want to do with your life?
Go back to your piece of paper and write “My purpose in life is…” Then, just write. Spend some time reflecting on your dreams, priorities, and the questions listed above.
Next, think of the ways you can use your passions and dreams to serve the world. Write down the following statement, “I will make the world a better place by…” and your answers.
Get all of your ideas down on paper. This will probably take you at least 10 minutes, though it could take hours. Write until you feel you have some clarity about your life. Then, go back and read the content. Is it powerful for you? Is it a wake up call? If not, keep writing until you find something that’s profound for you.
When I revealed my version of my life purpose, it was a combination of activities like the one you have just completed, tracking my North Node and its respective Gate, and understanding how many intersections within my human design can lead me to the clarity of my true life purpose. Here’s a bit about my life purpose.
My Life’s Purpose is “to live life as a great adventure of the emotional heart with a curiosity that is magic where life is lived with great courage while eagerly awaiting for life’s lessons to reveal themselves through adventure.”
Now, you might be thinking, “What does that mean?”
Here’s how it played out for me, it was part of living in a geographically remote location in the United States at the bottom of the Grand Canyon on ancient Native American tribal lands among an amazingly resilient Native American community not open to the public while either hiking 8 miles in/out or flying in a helicopter in/out. Same same. Now, understand that going into the adventure I had NO CLUE of the above statement about this portion of my life’s purpose. I gleaned the alignment only after going through a few learning curves, which I would be happy to help you navigate.
So, when you do define your life’s purpose, I sincerely hope it will be an emotional experience for you. I will hold space for you as you look at what you wrote and have one of those mind blowing “why didn’t I think of that before?” revelations. Even if your statements aren’t very impressive to others, what matters is that you find them 100% accurate and relevant, and they have emotional significance to you.
When I read mine, it brings tears to my eyes because it is such a powerful statement about my life and how I show up each day for it.
Are you ready?
