Adding 'purpose' to every day.....

Lately, I've been really hung up on the idea of a sense of 'purpose' as a guide for everyday life....

It's not a new idea for me, and actually, I think that this concept led me to work in the 'helping' professions to begin with.....

Even when I was little, something inside of me always pushed me toward what it was that I was 'meant' to be doing. I knew that there were certain times when I felt the most confident, the most sure, and the most at peace. These times almost always were when I was engaged in something creative, and usually also involved helping others. It seems that I knew even then that these factors were in tune with my purpose, but as a child I certainly didn't have the words to say that, or even the awareness to think it........Back then, I just knew what felt right. And back then, I wasn't held back by the roles that society tends to impose upon us as we grow.
I knew I liked to draw, so I did...I knew I liked to cheer people up-- so most of the time I would give my drawings away, and get a smile. It was intuitive, it was easy, and I felt good about it.

So what changes?  As adults, so many factors come into play as we decide how to spend our time, and where to focus our energy. We may have work obligations, a family to raise or older parents to care for, a home or apartment to maintain. (Bills to pay!) These are all real concerns that, most times, we cannot do much to change.

There are however, many things that keep us from our purpose driven ideas that we can get around. The biggest obstacle most people have to face when deciding to be true to themselves and their desires is the fear of disapproval from others.
For me, this could look like, "I love to paint, but I have so much to do around the house--- I would look irresponsible if I left the dishes in the sink while I paint a picture."
The fact is, a couple of dishes in the sink are not likely to affect me in any way-- washed or unwashed. If I spend my time on the dishes, I will be no more energized than if I don't. If I leave them there,  I will be no worse off.....the task has no meaning to me.
On the other hand, if I take twenty minutes to paint- I know that I will feel excited by the creativity, and energized by the sense of accomplishment. I also know that when I am excited and energized-- I get more done!! (including dishes-  bonus!)
The point here is, if we let all of our daily activities become those we feel obligated to do....the outcome will always be less than what a day with purpose could bring.


Nine times out of ten, what we think others are thinking of us is not even true. Let's get back to what moves us-- let's get back to PURPOSE.


THE BASIC TECHNIQUE
The filter technique below allows you to identify your purpose by bypassing the conditioned thought associations relating to ‘permission’ and ‘disapproval.’ It's broad enough to help you make big choices, like job moves, or small ones like how to spend a Saturday afternoon-- with YOU in mind!! :

1.		Identify what you like about yourself.
2.		Identify how you most like spending your time.
3.		Imagine your idea of a perfect world.

Your purpose is what links these three things together. In other words, it is the way you can use your favorite characteristics, abilities and attributes in activities you like best, to manifest your vision of a perfect world. Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of this technique.   -exerpt from Anxiety Culture, how to find your own purpose.


So here's what I got when I tried this:

1. I like that I am artistic and creative.
2. I like spending my time with friends and working on projects.
3. My idea of a perfect world is one where people can accept each other and work together.

One way to link these things together for me is: Providing a creative group project open to all of my friends..... like the Compeer Care and Share Jewelry group. You can check your Compeer newsletter for more info on the group, but basically, in this setting I get to be artistic and creative....I get to spend time with friends working on a project....and we can all accept one another and work together. This ties in all of the three things I identified- so cool!

Try the technique above and feel free to share one of your purpose-driven ideas in the comments section!