Purpose

An Insight from In the Room

“When I started my business, I had a strong sense of purpose but, recently, I feel like I have lost it.”

Purpose is not something to search for or seek, it is something that emerges over time. The mistake that is often made is that people want to “find their purpose” before they do things. And that is not how it works.

Purpose comes from what you repeatedly choose, what you prioritise regularly and what you keep coming back to.

Purpose is not about what you want, but what life wants from you. It is the intersection between what is meaningful to you, and meaningful to the world.

Here is a question to ponder that is a spanner in the works.

What if your purpose is something that causes you joy? What if it is a terrible purpose?

For example, for some people, raising kids is not fun and causes a lot of heartache and pain. It is very meaningful but is certainly not always joyous or happy. In this case, if your purpose is to raise stable, beautiful children, it is not always inspiring or motivating, but rather something that needs to be done.

Don’t disregard your Purpose just because it does not fit expectations.

Wisdom from Out the Room

“You don’t ask what you want from life, you treat life as asking something of you and answer through what you take responsibility for.” - Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

“A stable intention to accomplish something that is both meaningful to you and consequential for the world beyond you.” - William Damon, The Path to Purpose