The 3 Phases of Purpose

With the self-help industry raking in billions per year, it is no surprise that many of the people that I speak to always ask me questions about finding their purpose. I love being asked this question because it is a clear indication that the person asking is going to find their answer! When you look for something, eventually, you find it (as long as you don't give up). More often than not, the person asking is already living their purpose; they just have not "labeled" it or have consciously become of aware it. One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself in your journey to discovering your purpose is simply, what is it that you do the absolute best with the least amount of effort? We are not taught how to look internally at ourselves in school growing up, so this often becomes a challenge for many people if they did not have someone who pointed out their natural gifts and talents as a child. In this blog, it is my intention to help prepare you for what's to come when you decide to begin living your life to the absolute fullest by living your purpose each and every day that you are blessed to be alive.

Phase #1. You begin to realize you were born to do something greater than work a 9-to-5 and just pay bills.
In phase one of discovering your purpose, you tend to go through an unsettling feeling in your gut every day when you wake up. You begin to feel like you were created to do more, be more, and have more. This phase is where you start looking at your life and the people in it and start taking inventory and focusing on what really matters to you. You start thinking about what you want your legacy to be, how you want people to remember you, and what mark you want to leave on the world. Phase one is all about questions and reflecting.

Phase #2. Believing in yourself.
Phase two is often the biggest challenge for most people. When you ask, you will receive, and when you receive your answers, you must believe them! Believe that you can accomplish your dreams. Believe that you were born to do it all. Believe that you have the capability to bring your dreams into fruition. It is often easier to believe in someone else's abilities than it is our own. More often than not, I believe people know what their purpose is. However, they have a problem believing in themselves to walk it out. I will admit, it does take courage and confidence because everywhere you turn, people simply want to fit in. It takes courage and confidence to stand alone. You will not stand alone for long though. God will eventually put people, places, and things in your life to support you, and you will begin to attract other like-minded people into your circle if you hang in there. This is the phase where most people throw in the towel for fear of being alone. There will come a day that you will look back on this phase and realize it was the sweetest time in your life because you got to know who you are at your core. Get excited about that!

Phase #3. Breaking Family Traditions and Ways of Doing Things.
Here comes the work. I cannot tell you how many people come to me for coaching because their families are labeling them as "crazy", "weird", or "different". News flash: YOU ARE DIFFERENT! People that are courageous enough to truly step out and live their purpose have all been labeled as crazy and different. Martin Luther King Jr., Oprah Winfrey, and Nelson Mandela are just a few, but as you can see, you are actually in great company. When your thinking and ways of doing things goes up against the very fiber of what you were taught as a kid, it will make your family members view you as different. It's OK. Forgive them. Maybe they didn't have the capabilities to rear and guide you in the direction of your purpose because they are not living their own. People do the best they can with the information they have, and that's why it's important for you to forgive them. Eventually, the sly remarks and comments will stop when they see that you are who you are and there is absolutely nothing they can do about it. If you can get through the judgments and comments of your family, surely you can get through the judgments and comment of other people. Forgive them and keep it moving, you've got work to do and lives to change!

What phase of your purpose are you in? Share this post with someone you know is on their journey to realizing their purpose!