Cultures, Science, Literature, Epics and other various spheres have all tried to answer the question, ‘What is Life? The most common human response to that, ‘..life is what you make of it’. This make total sense in a way, as life, when it comes down to it, varies individually through a multitude of influencing factors, be it beliefs, cultures, dreams, purpose, even though on a primordial level it is a cycle of birth, growth, decline and fated death.
On a personal level, everyone dreams, they aspire to be someone, achieve something. These so called dreams or visions become their purpose, which then might fatefully turn into a life long journey of chasing those goals or a normal life where dreams remain dreams, never to turn into reality. There is no right or wrong path here, each path has a past set of events that sets into motion the future, each road may be filled with dreams, expectations, hopes, bonds, pressures.
All these aspects hold a overbearing grip over the person and influence the choices one makes, sometimes in a good way, at times in an unfortunate manner. So, how does one escape all these hindrances, burdens, life-drainers and find out ones real purpose in life.
For this, one needs to understand the real meaning of purpose. What is it? It is obviously different from goals. Goals are small or large targets you set for yourself in order to reach a particular level, be it in health, work life, personal life or spiritually. But purpose is the reason for your existence. Something that is in sync with you and your innerself. It is what defines you and is the cause for your existence.
A Post On The Journey Of Life
Purpose is a definition of you, on a primordial or fundamental level. This is what makes it more difficult to identify. We are constantly surround by people, their opinions, thoughts, ideas, works of art, movies, literature. All these are heavy influencers which are incessantly pounded and piled upon us, which pushes our true identity beneath a dozen layers, making it harder to reveal itself and become a manifestation of our own self. This requires us to dig deeper, pay more attention, be more aware and conscious of our thoughts, actions, behavior and other personal cues.
Steve Pavlina, a Personal Development Guru, on his blog, has shared a simple yet powerful way, to identify your purpose, the real goal that you should be chasing after, that has been buried over the years under a pile of trivialities. He starts by saying,
“How do you discover your real purpose in life? I’m not talking about your job, your daily responsibilities, or even your long-term goals. I mean the real reason why you’re here at all — the very reason you exist.”
He lays out a simple process, requiring not more than 20 minutes(which may vary from person to person). This requires you to forego all of your previous experiences and notions about life, goals, career, and sit down calmly and focus on this one simple task.
1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.
Steve, narrates this process brilliantly on his blog, along with the obstacles you will face while going through it. As simple this process appears, it’s complexity and meaning unravels as you progress further in the task.
Completing this task itself is a daring feat, but once you go through Steve’s experience and his guidelines you will know how helpful it is. The only reason stopping one from doing this will be thoughts like..
…it is too late for this…
…i am already knee deep into this other thing…
…i cannot abandon what i am doing now…
…i have these responsibilities…
These are just fears, of confrontation, hesitation, failure and lack of faith in yourself. They should not be hard to overcome, as you only have two choices, facing those small fears or living with regrets.
