The fact is, as organizational leaders, we don’t find time or just simply don’t talk about what it means to have purpose in this world. I don’t mean to get too deep, but it strikes me to be incredibly depressing to believe that life has been relegated to working, raising a family, getting old, and dying. Don’t get me wrong, these aspects of life aren’t bad, but let’s put some things in perspective. I ask this question in every room I can, to people from all walks of life…religious folks, teachers, students, bankers, and everyone else you can think of - "What’s your purpose in life?"
And the pause is deafening. Here are these smart, caring, driven people, who haven’t yet thought about their purpose in life. Have you? It is a pretty heavy moment for most people; as they sit and think - here I am, living a life that I thought was a good life, and yet, I don’t know my purpose. I was there once. It was tough, pain-staking and emotionally draining. What I realized then, and what I uncover every day in these experiences, is that purpose is not a noun, it’s a verb. It’s not a person, place or thing; purpose is a state of being in action.
Activating purpose can seem intimidating; going through the process of asking yourself, “What do I care about?” and “What am I here for?” But asking a tough question is part of the journey, it’s part of the process in which we pause, reflect, and focus on that feeling inside that we have been ignoring; or that calling in our spirit that we have been deflecting. There it is, that’s purpose. It’s that in which guides our souls, reveals our deepest fears, and ignites our inner-most passions.
And the pause is deafening. Here are these smart, caring, driven people, who haven’t yet thought about their purpose in life. Have you? It is a pretty heavy moment for most people; as they sit and think - here I am, living a life that I thought was a good life, and yet, I don’t know my purpose. I was there once. It was tough, pain-staking and emotionally draining. What I realized then, and what I uncover every day in these experiences, is that purpose is not a noun, it’s a verb. It’s not a person, place or thing; purpose is a state of being in action.
Activating purpose can seem intimidating; going through the process of asking yourself, “What do I care about?” and “What am I here for?” But asking a tough question is part of the journey, it’s part of the process in which we pause, reflect, and focus on that feeling inside that we have been ignoring; or that calling in our spirit that we have been deflecting. There it is, that’s purpose. It’s that in which guides our souls, reveals our deepest fears, and ignites our inner-most passions.