What's Your Why? π
Are you feeling stuck? Have you lost your mojo? Does every day feel like groundhog day?
Rather than searching for your life's purpose..... consider reframing things. How can you use your time to do the things that are most important to you?
Developing Your Purpose is a Process
You donβt have to worry about finding your one true purpose; it's not something you find but rather something you cultivate and develop. You can create your purpose through deliberate action and reflection. Our purpose often comes from different areas of our lives. Your purpose will naturally wax and wane, shift and morph throughout your life. Like happiness, purpose is not a destination, but a journey and a practice.
Follow a path that aligns your actions and behaviors to what is most meaningful to you in different areas of your life. Research shows the happiest people have a strong sense of purpose. Whether it comes from their work, role as a parent, or hobbies and interests, they are happier because they have cultivated their purpose. If you don't have a sense of your purpose, what is holding you back?
Find your why, and you'll find your way. - John Maxwell
Ask yourself...
- Is there a problem or challenge that emotionally moves you to take action?
- What kind of work would give you a sense of satisfaction or fulfillment?
- What aspect of your work have you consistently enjoyed across your career?
- What kind of work feels effortless to you and drives your curiosity to learn more?
- What excites you so much that you ignore biological functions?!!!?
In his book Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team, Simon Sinek explains the interrelationships between our WHY, HOW, and WHAT.
- Our WHY is our purpose, cause or beliefβthe driving force behind everything we do.
- Our HOWs are the actions we take when we are at our natural best to bring our WHY to life.
- Our WHATs are the tangible manifestation of our WHY, the actual work we do every day.
Working hard for something we don't care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion. -Simon Sinek
The Four Pillars of Purpose
There are four research-supported tactics that can lead to a strong sense of purpose: awareness, values, aspirations, and congruent behaviors.
- Awareness- Discovering what is alive inside of you. Uncovering your personal strengths.
- Values- Reflecting on your core beliefs. Determining what's most important to you.
- Aspirations- Imaging your best self; striving for something great
- Congruent Behaviors- Acting in ways that match your values and aspirations
Take a few minutes to complete this brief questionnaire:
The Satisfaction with Life Scale was developed by Ed Diener, Robert A Emmons, Randy J Larsen, and Sharon Griffin. (Journal of Personality Assessment 1985; 49: 71-5)
Scoring
31 to 35 = Extremely Satisfied
26 to 30 = Satisfied
21 to 25 = Slightly Satisfied
20 = Neutral
15 to 19 = Slightly Dissatisfied
10 to 14 = Dissatisfied
5 to 9 = Extremely Dissatisfied
Taking Action to Make Your Purpose a Reality
Consider the use of a vision board to create a path towards your WHY. Rachel Hollis, best-selling author and motivational speaker, talks about a 10/10/1 plan. Consider these questions:
- Who you want to be in 10 years. If you could do anything for work, no matter the skills, what would you do?
- What are the 10 dreams that would make your vision into a reality? If money didn't matter, what would you spend most of your time doing? Imagine the healthiest and happiest version of yourself. What do you feel and see? Write down those 10 dreams in a notebook as if they already happened.
- Then pick 1 to focus on as a goal. When it becomes a reality, move to the next.
The Wellbeing Elixir and our business, Yoga Apothecary LLC, are our WHY. Stuart and I are pursuing our passion for learning, creating, and helping others. We're learning HOW to do new things, like recording videos, writing blog essays, and designing a website. And we hope WHAT we do help people become their best selves β physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life.
There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine.
O traveler, if you are in search of that, don't look outside, look inside yourself and seek
That.
-Rumi
Check out our Home Yoga video D = Dream part of the Yoga Apothecary series Wellbeing from A to Z.
Cheers-
Cheers-
Seena
Brian Simmons
When she was a toddler, my daughter used to say "that's why...because". PROFOUND!