How to Find Your Purpose and Passion in Life

Are you feeling listless? Are you going through life just to survive? Feeling stuck in a job because you don’t know what else to do? The good news is that there is a way out of this!

Did you start off in high school with these aptitude tests that gave you a list of possible careers that were of little interest to you? These tests are not able to account for how the human factor.  No aptitude test can take into account all of who you are. The possibilities for your life are endless.

So what do you do?

You know there are bigger, more important things for you to do in life. But you don’t know how to get there. Too many things are getting in the way like lack of money, feeling like it is not the right time to make the change, the need to financially support yourself. Probably the worst is the fear of the unknown.

You are tired of messing around, and you are ready for real change. You are hungry to answer this question: How to find your purpose and passion in life.

Self Awareness:

A right place to start is to find some self-awareness tool. There are many excellent ones out there from the Myers Briggs, Colors and the Enneagram. I like the Enneagram because it is more representative of the complexity of us human beings. Find a tool that works for you.

For example, the Enneagram personality modality shows us that at the beginning of your life you are given one of nine different ways to survive in the world. As you grew up, the biases of your type kept your ego safe. You could not have survived those early years without these automatic responses to life.  You can thank your ego for keeping you alive!

As you mature the limitation of your particular lens, creates more trouble than it solves. You only can see one-ninth of the options when you are stuck in your personality. Hence, you don’t make the best decisions because you are not aware of other more constructive ways to respond to life’s challenges.

To resolve this, you are encouraged to strengthen your life skills so that you will be getting stronger in all nine personality types. As you get healthier in your physical, emotional and spiritual health, you will know deep within you your purpose and what makes you passionate.

Finding Your Purpose Through the Enneagram

The Enneagram can help you befriend yourself. Once you discern what type you are, you can begin to see your strengths and growing edges. Finding your type is no excuse to behave a particular way. Learning about the Enneagram is intended to help you get out of your box. Your goal is to get as healthy as you can in all nine types.

Getting healthier in your type expands the tools you have in life to face the ups and downs of life. It also helps you go beyond the inner critic, that judgemental voice within you that tends to try to stop you from going into something new!

Getting Beyond the Inner-Critic:

We all have an inner critic. The inner critic tries its best to keep you safe. You can help to quiet it down by reassuring this negative energy that you are most capable of taking care of yourself. The inner critic has the best of intentions, that being your well-being.  But too often it gets in our way preventing us finding our purpose and passion.

To get in touch with your inner-critic, you might want to brainstorm all the negative messages you hear in your head such as:

·         I am not smart enough

·         Nobody likes me

·         All my romantic relationships end in disaster

·         I am not worth investing in myself

·         I am not good enough

·         I am a failure

·         I am not a risk taker

·         Whatever I touch falls apart

·         I am too old to try something new

Do you recognize any of these in your head?  Until you quiet down your inner-critic, it is going to be difficult for you to find your purpose and passion.

You can quiet down your inner-critic by slowly becoming aware of when it is active. After you name all these negative voices, it is essential for you to catch yourself in the act, with gentleness and compassion. Be-friending your inner-critic takes time and intention. Remember your inner-critic is not your enemy!

As you free yourself from the negative voices, it will be easier for you get in touch with your highest self. Pay attention to your dreams. What have you thought of doing before your inner-critic had its way? What do you love doing? What are your hobbies? What hobbies could you turn into a business?

Exploring New Possibilities:

As you explore new possibilities, pay attention to the wisdom of your body. What is your body telling you through your sensations?

As you explore new possibilities, pay attention to the wisdom of the heart. What are your emotions telling you?

As you explore new possibilities, pay attention to your quiet mind. What is your peaceful mind telling you?

With time you will get to know the difference between fear that comes out of trying something new verses real concern to take seriously.

Experimentation:

It might take you some time to find your new direction. The important thing is that you will need to experiment. If you think you might like something, try it. The worst that can happen is that you find it not to be right for you. Discovering something not to be right for you is not a failure! It is all about exploration. Each new activity/job we try gives us knowledge about who we are.

You will know when you find your purpose and passion. It will be like your whole body lights up!  Everything will feel right within your body, heart, and mind. There might still be a little fear, but you will know deep within yourself that you are on the right path.

Finding your purpose and passion is a journey in its self. It takes time and most importantly your own effort to get in touch with all of who you are. You need name how your inner-critic is getting in your way. Once you begin to get beyond your negative thoughts, it is time for you connect with the sensations of your body, the emotions of the heart and from the wisdom of your quiet mind.

Using atool like the Enneagram can shed considerable light on your inner world. Take as much time as you need to learn through any self-awareness tool to get the maximum benefit out of it.

Most of all have a fun time trying out new hobbies, jobs, sports, spiritual practices and anything else you want to try that honors you.

Don’t be afraid to get help from a close friend who you trust. Talk to your religious leader. Find a coach or counselor to help you to work through this process. There is never shame in getting help.

You will know when you found your purpose and passion!  It will be self-evident.

Roland Legge offers presence based life coaching through REL Consultants for individuals, couples, and organizations to help them to be the best they can be. For more information, please arrange for a free 30-minute discovery call by phoning Roland at 1 306 620-7478 or book your appointment online at   https://www.relconsultants.com/coach-roland-legge Please click on “Discovery Call.”