WholeLife Matrix: Personal Awareness – Spirit / Life Purpose
“The Purpose of Our Lives is To Be Happy.” — Dali Lama
As the Dali Lama said “The Purpose of Our Lives is To Be Happy.” This is true since everything we want in life is because we believe we will be happier once we have it. But among all the options, expectations, and beliefs we encounter in life, it can become a challenge to identify the things that will truly satisfy us and lead to the most fulfillment in our lives. So, the first step to discovering our purpose is to let go of false beliefs and the opinions of others, and then to ask ourselves what really makes us happy.
Exercise to Find Your Purpose
An exercise you can do to find your purpose is to write at the top of a page “What is my true purpose in life?” Write down the things that pop into your head and see what resonates with you most. Try to write at least 100 answers. You can also rate each idea from a scale of 1 to 10. It may take 15-20 minutes to clear your mind of expectations of what others think your purpose should be. You can also make lists for all the things that are most important to you and all the things you want to do.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to come up with some answers:
1. Think about what you would like to be remembered for once you have passed. What would matter to you at the end of your life and what things do you want to accomplish in your life. Are you on track to accomplish those things?
2. What makes you smile or lose track of time? What things do you enjoy doing now and what have you enjoyed doing in the past?
3. What makes you feel great about yourself, who inspires you and what qualities in a person inspire you?
4. What are you naturally good at, what do people ask you for help about, and what could you teach others?
5. What are your strongest values and what would you regret not doing, having, or being at the end of your life?
6. What challenges are you currently overcoming and have overcome? How did you overcome them?
7. What causes do you believe in and care about? If you could send a message to a large group, who would that group be and what would your message be? How would you use your talents, values, and passions to contribute to people, causes and the environment?
Examples of Values and Goals
1. What matters to me most is feeling blissful.
2. I most value having meaningful connections with people. I want to have strong connections with my family and friends.
3. I want to have financial freedom so that I can have more free time and go anywhere at any time. I want to achieve financial freedom by doing things I enjoy which align with my values and goals.
4. I want to travel the world and experience different cultures.
What Are You Chasing, and Why?
Ask yourself what you are pursuing or chasing in your life and if it is worth going after. Should you be pursuing something else at this point in your life? For example, maybe you will discover that having a family is important now or that you want to create a new business.
Creating a Mission Statement
Based on your brainstorming of your life purpose, things you care about, and things you want to do, you can create a mission statement. To create a mission statement, ask yourself, what you want to do, who you might want to help and what value or results you want to create. An example of a mission statement is “To inspire, empower, and motivate women to achieve their goals and live fulfilled lives.” To find out what people, causes, animals, etc. you might want to help, make a list of them. Your lists can change over time, and so can your mission statement.
Choosing Opportunities That Align with Your Mission
Using your mission statement can help you decide what opportunities to pursue. For example, when an opportunity comes up that does not align with you mission statement, values, and goals, you can decide not to pursue it. As Stephen Covey mentioned in his book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People," “Writing or reviewing a mission statement changes you because it forces you to think through your priorities deeply, carefully, and to align your behavior with your beliefs."
In the WholeLife Matrix, we have four aspects for developing and accessing your live purpose:
1. Discovering
2. Pursuing
3. Reviewing
4. Sharing
Once you have discovered your purpose, mission statement, values, and goals, you will be better equipped to choose things in your life that align with them and on your way to a more fulfilling life.
Are you ready to win?
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