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Do you wonder what life is all about, wondering if this is all there is to life?
There is more to life than a job,a family, and lots of stuff to do, there’s a purpose to your life.
For those regularly following my articles, you’ve seen that I regularly return to the topic of life purpose. It’s really that important to personal growth. That’s why my main domain name is PurposefulGrowth.com—growth on purpose, intentional growth using life purpose as a foundation.
The Beautiful Benefits of Knowing Life Purpose
Do you go, go, go all day every day, but have the lingering feeling that something is very wrong, something is missing that should be there?
You’re right, the something that’s missing in your life is purpose, the real purpose of your life.
Flickr.com user Mia Coffee Snow, CC Attribution License
Knowing my life purpose has brought me fulfillment, satisfaction, joy, and a guiding vision for my life. It didn’t come easily or quickly, but when it came it arrived with a burst of clarity and joy that I can still feel.
I was no different than most people, going about my life’s routines all the while trying to answer those two haunting questions: Who am I? and Why am I here?
These are universal questions that all humans ask themselves at some time in their lives. We’re born with the drive to make sense of our lives. Without having an underlying purpose to our lives we feel incomplete, like something is missing. The material goods we accumulate and the goals we achieve aren’t enough.
Even the loving relationships in our lives aren’t enough to offset the feelings that something is missing…until we find the answers. That day when it all became clear to me was the culmination of working along several paths of inquiry and exploration. There’s no one best way for a person to discover his or her life purpose. For each of us, it’s an inner journey of reflection, retrospection, inquiry and exploration.
Stream of Consciousness for Discovering Life Purpose
Have you convinced yourself that your current work or an important role in your life is your purpose?
It isn’t, though it may be related to your purpose.
On that wonderful day for me, I was using a stream of consciousness approach recommended by Steve Pavlina. It’s a simple process: Start with a blank sheet of paper or text document. At the top write
My Life Purpose Is
Then start writing. Write whatever comes into your consciousness, without editing or thinking. Write until you have a strong emotional response. When the right words spilled out on the screen I cried. Tears of joy were accompanied by a tremendous feeling of love, relief, and knowing. I knew my life purpose.
Finding your life purpose is an inside job, a job of self-reflection, of understanding self, and of piecing together the insights that come from serious pursuit of purpose. Stream of consciousness writing is but one way to tap into your inner wisdom for the insights necessary to find the life that is meaningful and fulfilling.
My Life Purpose Example
For those struggling with defining a sufficiently meaningful life, the example of my life purpose may be helpful.
My life purpose is to love unconditionally, to be peaceful, to be courageous and unafraid of failure and rejection, to grow continuously, and to use my insights and other strengths in the service of others while allowing my life to unfold as it will.
That’s it. Notice the lack of “doing” things. Most peoples’ quest for life purpose gets sidetracked because they’re looking for the things they should be doing in life. But that’s the wrong approach. We’re human beings, not human doings. I know you’ve heard that before, but it’s critical to realize that your life purpose is defined by qualities and characteristics. These are states of being. They describe who you are.
The doing part of being human results from the being part. As I love unconditionally I express that quality by the things I do. First comes unconditional love, then comes the resulting behavior.
As I mentioned earlier, there’s no one best way to find your life purpose. Any process that aids in your journey of self-reflection and insight will guide you toward finding your life purpose. I’m sure I haven’t tried them all, but I have used many, many processes and will soon be writing more about various processes for finding your life purpose.
Brad Swift’s Video Coaching Series
One that I’ve just completed is Brad Swift’s Life on Purpose Video Coaching series. Swift’s book, Life on Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life is one that I include in my list of best books. So I was pleased to get the opportunity to review his video coaching series.
The series includes fifteen coaching videos by Swift with an accompanying comprehensive downloadable workbook. I went through the entire process, just as you might, watching each video, taking extensive notes, and filling out the exercises (calls-to-action) in the workbook. It took me about 30 days, allowing some time between sessions for reflection on the material.
Conclusion? This is a very good tool for those serious about finding life purpose. Swift covers the basic foundation concept of being vs. doing very well. It’s an abstract concept which is difficult for many. His explanation will be helpful to many people. The exercises help you to uncover and explore the beliefs you hold subconsciously that are guiding your life, preventing you from seeing your true purpose. Swift calls these beliefs your inherited life purpose to distinguish from true life purpose.
The videos covering creating your true life purpose are a bit lengthy and slow moving, but effective. A series of 15 or so tools to help you keep your daily life aligned with purpose are very effective and will help you keep from “slipping back” into your previous life habits. The videos are of good quality, with a homespun appearance. No flash and dash, just Brad Swift leading you through the process.
The series is very good and I heartily recommend The Life on Purpose Video Coaching Series to you. Though I often recommend personal growth books, I’ve never recommended a non-book product or service. I’m so impressed with Swift’s product that I’ve accepted an invitation to become an affiliate. Though I’ll still write about finding life purpose and will likely put out a brief ebook on the topic, Swift has developed an excellent and reasonably priced product that I’ve decided to promote as an affiliate rather than any attempt at duplicating/improving his product.
Finding Your Life Purpose is Fundamental to Personal Development
If you’re serious about personal growth and development, you absolutely must spend the effort to find the life components that make your life meaningful and fulfilling. Whether you believe in a divinely inspired life purpose is not important. What is important to your happiness is that you find meaning and purpose in your daily life. You’re at your best when your life has meaning, so if success with inner happiness is important to you, build your life on a foundation of purpose.
Two Good Options for Finding Your Purpose
My recently released book, What is Life all About? How do I Find my Purpose?, is a great place to start. What is Life all About? provides you with twelve paths to finding your unique life purpose. One or more of these is sure to work for you! This book has garnered excellent early reviews.
A second good option path to your purpose in life is the Life on Purpose Video Coaching Series.
Books from Personal Growth Resources
What is Life all About? How do I Find my Purpose? is the latest in the Personal Growth Resources series of personal growth books. Other books in the series include:
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Build your life on a foundation of purpose
