Purpose is the central motivating aim of your life. It can guide life decisions, shape goals, and influence behavior. Purpose gives your life meaning and direction and, in turn, inspires us to contribute to the world.
Your true purpose becomes clear when you realize you should live to positively impact others. If you don’t consider others in your life’s pursuit, serving only yourself, you will eventually feel isolated, suffer from a lack of meaning, and seek fulfillment that will never come. This disconnect is why “following your passion” is NOT a career strategy. Passion is you-focused and ultimately exists based on your feelings about this moment. It will wain with your energy and interests. Our purpose may be directly related to our career or created due to our work in other areas of our life. Being both passionate and aligned with your purpose provides motivation and peace.
A lot of pressure can be associated with “finding one’s purpose.” When you need clarity about your purpose, you can feel unsure of how to live. The pressure to “get it right” can be stifling and cause you to ruminate or get stuck.
Your purpose is not handed out in a sealed envelope as you graduate and embark on “real life.” When deciding to live a life of purpose versus finding the perfect passion, you actually start making a difference now and gain insights that inform your journey through action.
To begin, let’s start by answering questions that build to the critical elements of your Purpose Statement. A Purpose Statement is a short statement that succinctly and specifically shares your aspirational mission beyond the work. It serves as a charter that points you in a direction and allows you to answer “why.”
Since you are a dynamic individual with continually developing circumstances, your Purpose Statement will evolve. For now, write one that feels compelling for this season, and call it good. There’s permission to revisit it as time goes on.
You will find that when you can meaningfully declare your purpose in business meetings, as a leader, or in the market, the rest of your conversation becomes richer and more authentic. Openly sharing your values and purpose with humility, builds trust and allows the people you meet to feel invited into working with you or inspired to know you. We encourage all leaders to share their values & purpose statement as often as possible to allow themselves to be held accountable to their higher cause and inspire others by their actions.