There are two great days in a person’s life –
the day we are born, and the day we discover why.
William Barkley
We are born with a purpose in life, and part of our journey is to find out what it is. We find it by looking inside, and listening to the voice that tells us why we are here, and we will no longer need to search for it – it will find us.
It will find us when:
We are doing what we enjoy,
And doing what we are good at,
And what empowers us,
Uplifts us,
inspires us,
and makes us feel alive.
Some people don’t pursue what they were born to do – life happens to them; and they get discouraged by it and put their dreams aside, or they put other’s expectations of them first, or seek fulfillment with distractions – overeating, or working too much, but these activities aren’t meaningful so they don’t find lasting fulfillment.
Much has been written about finding your purpose:
Tony Robbins says: “you have to decide what’s important to you, and put that first, and create a vision for yourself. He says being too busy means ‘managing your pain’, but the real way out of pain is giving. That is when your life matters to more than yourself. He says the best time to give is when you have nothing. It’s like planting a seed when you have very little left, and something starts to grow.”
“What will put life in perspective is to constantly do something as a ritual, to serve somebody in worse shape than you are; there is no greater way to put perspective in your life. I call it ‘I have no problems day’. It’s about doing something for someone who is worse off than you.” – TR
The Dalai Lama says: “the purpose of life is to be happy” and that caring for others has the added benefit of increasing our own wellbeing and bringing us inner peace.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “The crowning fortune of a man (or woman*) is to be born to some pursuit which finds him employment and happiness, whether it be to make baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or statues, or songs.”
Joseph Campbell called it “finding your bliss”. To fulfill your purpose in life requires persistence on your part. When you face setbacks, you must have faith in yourself, and not listen to other people tell you that you cannot do something when you know you can. Only you know what your purpose is, it comes from inside you, so you are the expert on this one.
Some people recognize their purpose early in life, and a beautiful flame is lit inside them, which fuels their inner peace and purpose. Their talent continues to develop and expands from helping themselves to helping others.
When I was young, I dreamed of being a writer and someone told me writing was for middle aged men with a lot of life experience. I”m glad I didn’t listen to him or I wouldn’t have had articles published, or ran a resume writing business, or worked for a newspaper writing ads and articles, or taught essay writing, or written this blog, which I enjoy.
Following your dreams takes persistence. Circumstances and people don’t always support you, and every artist creating their path has faced setbacks. The Beatles pursued their purpose with persistence, despite every record company that they approached at first turning them down. Once they signed a recording contract, they went on to become one of the best bands of all time. Likewise, JK Rowling was initially rejected by all the publishing houses she took her Harry Potter books to. But once a publisher signed her on, those books became one of the best- selling series of books of all time. Both The Beatles and Joanne Rowling had faith in their ability and persistently pursued their goals.
The moment you decide to take the first step towards your dreams, then take a step to start creating your unique path, you are on your way. Doors open for you, your fears recede, and your doubts evaporate. You no longer feel that you don’t have enough talent or time to pursue your dreams, because time will disappear when you are having fun.
We think we are physical beings, and look outside ourselves to find our purpose, but we are actually spiritual beings who can look inside ourselves to find what is right for us, as unique individuals.
Eckhart Tolle says: “awakening to your life’s purpose involves serving yourself and others in some way. When you use your special talents and gifts to contribute to the world, the power will come through you like a light, that only you know is shining through you, and you will feel great presence with what you are doing and will really enjoy it.”
Eckhart says: “it is not based on desire, or the ego, but it is based on enjoyment” and you are totally present when doing it.
*woman added for the purposes of this blog
photo credits: both flickr <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoquotes/9689105659/”>symphony of love</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>cc</a>