”What do you want to do when you grow up”?
This question was often answered with a shrug of the shoulders when I was a Lad. Quite frankly, I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do with my life when I was growing up. Except when I was 8- years old when I was certain, for about 2 months, I wanted to grow up to be a Wrestler. Other than that, I was clueless.
Maybe your experience was similar? Family parties as a child- distant relatives quizzing you on your plans after your studies, they were the worst, right? I imagine it was great if you knew, and I had a handful of friends who were certain at a young age what their purpose is and what they wanted to do after school. But for those of us who simply don’t know, being asked was a pain in the arse.
Through self-exploration, travels to the other side of the world and being open to letting the answers come to me, I feel I’ve discovered my purpose. I understand for many of us, there’s still no clarity. So if you’re reading this and you’re not sure on your purpose, you’re not sure on the type of life you wish to create or what your passions are, I’m writing this for you.
So how best to tackle the questions?
Take some time out, ideally in a quiet place, perhaps an inspiring place, at the very the least, somewhere you won’t get disturbed. Grab a pen and paper and write whatever comes to mind until you can write no more. It’s important not to judge your answers. Accept what comes up for you. There is no right or wrong.
- When do you most feel alive? Think of moments when your heart was singing. What were you doing?
- What would you do if you could just do it all the time? That activity or act you could never get tired of doing.
- What do you feel If you found out you only had 5 years to live, what would you do for the rest of your life? This may seem a little morbid but if this actually happened, you found out you only had 5 years left to live, what would you do? What do you feel you couldn’t leave Earth without doing?
- When do you most feel in Flow? Those times when you feel in a state of ease, joy and creativity. Time flies and you can’t get enough of this.
- What does your perfect day look like? Imagine you could wake up each and every morning and create your perfect day, what you choose to do?
- What are you AMAZING at? Your most stronger skills or attributes, what you do extraordinarily well.
- If you secretly knew the answer, what would your purpose be? What would you say if you already knew the answer? Forget what you believe is possible and what other people may think of you. If you listened to your Intuition for a moment, what answers come up for you?
Once you have your answers, look back over them and notice if there are any occurring themes or words. Ponder these 3 further questions to summarize. What’s interesting about your answers? What is new? Which answers do you feel drawn towards?
As Steve Jobs said ‘your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it’.
I think Steve Jobs makes a great point when he said to keep looking. We live in times where there’s never been more Opportunity. Never before has it been easier to live your purpose. It’s never been cheaper and easier to start a Business, travel the world, learn skills – live the life you desire in alignment with your purpose.
Your purpose may not be to rid the world of Hunger, and that’s Ok. Whatever answers come up for you, love and accept them. There’s no competition. Your purpose is as perfect and unique as you are…
Originally published at www.stevenaitchison.co.uk