How Do We Find Purpose?
Most entrepreneurs and creatives strive for a purpose-driven life. But what we’re really talking about when we talk about purpose is finding meaning. And more specifically, meaningful work. How do you find that kind of work? Or do you?
As you gear up for 2018 and begin imagining your best year, there are likely things you want to welcome in and other things you prefer to leave behind. To live a life of purpose, it’s important to get clarity around what those things are, embrace change, and be open to new ideas. That’s why my team and I are launching Quest2018 as a way support your vision for a more meaningful life.
You see, creating change requires more than setting goals and resolutions, and optimizing morning routines. And while seeking purpose is a worthy goal, the path to a meaningful life also can be fraught with difficulties.
It’s well documented that people who have purpose are more productive and happier in their work.
However, according to a study out of the University of Pennsylvania, as we seek purpose there’s indicators that show we’re also becoming more anxious.
And the ironic part of this is, the more anxious you are the more difficult it becomes to achieve your goals, which directly correlates with finding purpose.
It also brings up the question of, do we find purpose? Is purpose something that we’re called to?
Maybe.
What we see is that purpose for some people has never been consciously articulated. Instead some people have been driven by an organizing principle or questions that guide them on a path to seek and live with purpose. It’s part of their DNA.
But for many of us purpose is more illusive. We test to find purpose with deliberate actions. This is why apprenticeships, internships, or life experiments can be so important. It allows us to get our footing to see if this is the right path, if this is what we feel called to do.
Finding purpose or the belief that it’s out there to be found is anxiety-inducing because we think that if we haven’t found it we’re doing something wrong.
If you’re searching for purpose, or writhing in the anxiousness of not having found it, I invite you to join me for a conversation with two visionary thought leaders Caroline Miller & Katie Dalebout. This conversation is the first in a series of recorded conversations on select topics involving tensions as they apply to your personal and professional growth – and they are exclusively available to people who have registered for this years Quest.
Caroline is a renowned Positive Psychology coach, speaker, author, and considered one of the world’s leading experts on the science of goal-setting and grit. Her most recent book, Getting Grit has been heralded as one of the “Top 10 Books That Will Change Your Life in 2017.”
Katie hosts the weekly podcast Let It Out with over 100 published episodes and is author of the Amazon best-selling book Let It Out: A Journey Through Journaling.
On December 5, Katie and Caroline will join me to kick off a series of roundtable conversations which begins with Finding Purpose versus Testing for Purpose. Quest is a free community event designed to inspire you to re-think the status quo and approach to doing business, challenge you to embrace change, open you to new ideas, and prepare you for 2018 in a whole new way.
I guarantee the global community experience will be mind-blowing and soul-opening as we all endeavor to do business as unusual. Together.
And do me a favor: Share this article with someone who these days might need a lift or a nudge to shape a meaningful year.
–Jeffrey
#WeQuest
