Almost two years ago I identified my Personal Purpose Statement. It served me well for a while. Recently, though, I realized it wasn’t quite right for me.
As our book study group read through the steps, some of them really took on the task of nailing down their purpose statement. In watching them, I was inspired to finally work on revisiting my own purpose statement.
It can be an arduous task, coming up with just a few words to describe the core of our desired impact. The process can be frustrating at times because we want it and we know it’s there.
Originally, my purpose statement was: “I inspire meaningful proactivity.” I liked that it touched on my passion for being proactive. Fixing root problems, for example, really gets me fired up. As much as this statement is true, I found I’m not feeling pulled to move leaders who would be the people to fix larger-scale problems, at least not at this time.
Instead, I feel a constant pull to enlighten people about the impact they have on other people. Everything from the people blocking traffic because they are walking down the middle of the aisle in the Wal-Mart parking lot to men who sexually abuse kids, gets me fired up. I so deeply want them to know that their actions are effecting other people. I think so many people are completely unaware of the impact they are having.
My new purpose statement is: “I promote positive on-purpose impact.” Just reading that makes me get excited.
I’m sharing that story to encourage you. If you’re struggling to identify your own purpose, you’re not alone. But don’t give up! Keep at it and it will come. We’ve included some useful activities in our book, Splash!: Increase Your Life’s Impact. Essentially, we’re looking at the intersection of a person’s strengths, passions and what makes a meaningful impact. There are a lot of options if we mix and match these three different components. All the different options can feel a little overwhelming.
Following are a few things I learned that you might find helpful.
1. Pay special attention to what you frequently think about.
It could provide a useful clue. The things in life that get us fired up often point to an underlying passion.
2. The thesaurus is your friend.
One word may be close, but not quite right. A thesaurus can help us move past feeling stuck and help us explore related ideas. I found it to be extremely helpful.
3. It’s OK to try one on for size, even if your not totally certain it’s just right for you.
Even a not-quite-right purpose statement will help you learn more about yourself. It’s fine to get started on something and then to adjust it later. People’s lives are still going to be positively impacted, which is better than sitting around waiting for the perfect purpose statement to come to you.
In our book, we emphasize the importance of learning by experience. Discovering your purpose is no exception. It’s just another one of those things where it’s better to make a mistake and to learn from it than it is to do nothing, waiting for things to be perfect first.
How about you? what is your purpose in life, as best as you understand it right now?
