Being on Purpose
Lots of good articles and Ted Talks will point you towards exploring your “Why” to provide the key to your existence in business and the pace with which you can move forward. All this is good stuff, and I’m not going to attempt to rewrite these words. Today, kids, I’m going to bang on about purpose and how you can discover it and set yourself free from all the other crap.
Purpose is the reason why you do your thing. For the seminal talk on this, look for Simon Sinek. But here is the full majesty of my best reckon on this subject.
It really is worthwhile to get clear on why you do what you do, and to revisit this every once in a while, tweaking and modifying as you recognise things that either lose or gain importance in your life. Everything has a season, and the reasons why you do what you do and feel how you do about it are no exception.
If you have clear reasons why you do stuff, what you think and how you feel, life (and your energy) stays pretty manageable. Also, your boundaries (what you say yes or no to) remain clear and unassailable because you act out what you feel and think, as far as is socially acceptable / legal. (Until alcohol gets involved, but that’s another story …. interesting point though, to notice how you are without the inhibitions that remind you how you normally behave when you remember your values and other p’s and q’s.)
When your reasons for doing things become weak, compromised or confused, you become stressed and run into trouble. You may no longer feel you have the energy to achieve - because you’ve forgotten why you are putting the effort in, or have failed to notice your needs and your values changing over time. Life won’t stand still, so we need to stay alert and change our course - little and often works best.
Purpose Pointers:
Go for a walk. Make a daily constitutional part of your routine. Because it will afford you the headspace to process how you feel about stuff.
Mindless Meditation. Soothe your nerves and calm your energy with something you find relaxing. I dunno, Lego? Colouring in? And try and remember to breathe while you’re doing it. Allowing yourself this space will let thoughts and emotions flow and emerge. This is useful.
Read and connect with the thoughts of others
Notice what you observe in others that inspires you
Notice your responses to experiences and be curious about them.
Dig into the reasons why you do stuff and keep digging until you get to the bottom of the issue. “Because I like it” is not enlightening enough to be of any use. “I like it because it gives me a feeling of control over this aspect of my life” is more illuminating and may actually help you tweak other areas of your life too.
Write this stuff down.
Make a beeline for and spend time with people who fill you will joy because you like their style.
Cultivate community and be a force for good
Do stuff for free and notice what you enjoy about doing it.
Pay it forward and stay in credit. (Time, effort, love, friendship, trust, kindness, chocolate….)
Do something new. New people, new places, new experiences can all be very inspiring and help set the wheels in motion for helping you redesign or refine your approach.
Notice feedback. Take stock. Go for that walk!