How To Develop your Purpose

In my last blog I explained the meaning of having a Purpose.

As a quick recap, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, purpose can be defined as “why you do something or why something exists,” or “the feeling of knowing what you want to do.”

This doesn’t just relate to your career - it’s also about what you believe in, what you value in life, and what motivates you.

I now want to consider how you can develop purpose as a key driver in your life.

As a dedicated business coach, I’ve spent many hours working with professional leaders helping them create purpose in their lives and careers.

I hope you find the following tips useful.

Clearly understand the importance of purpose

To achieve the best goals and results, ensure you fully understand the value of purpose and work out how to instil it in your life.

Ask yourself simple, but meaningful, questions such as “How would a sense of purpose impact my company, team, or career?” or “How would my life change if I woke up each day with a deeper sense of purpose?”

Understanding the importance of purpose, is the first step in creating it for yourself.

Reflect on what matters

Don’t wait for purpose to find you – go out and seek it for yourself.

Look back on your life and recognise stories from the past which taught you important lessons about yourself, helped shape the person you are, and identified what matters to you.

Why not build a list of values which resonate with you?

All this will create themes and values which will inspire a sense of purpose.

What truly matters to you? Photo Chi Lok Tsang Unsplash

Apply values in life

Once you’ve identified what really matters to you in life. seek out ways of implementing these values in both your professional and personal life.

For example, if giving back to the community is important to you then look for opportunities to volunteer.

If you aspire to personal development then look for educational opportunities to help you fulfil this.

Whatever you decide, the key point is to embrace your values to give you a deeper sense of purpose.

Create a ‘Personal Purpose Statement’

This will provide direction and be a constant reminder of what matters most.

Remember from my last blog that when I launched my business in 2017 my statement was “to positively affect 100,000 people by the year 2025.”

By staying focused and aligned to this statement, I ultimately successfully achieved it.

Implement your Personal Purpose Statement

Once you’ve identified your statement, there’s absolutely no point in just forgetting about it and leaving it on the back-burner.

Live and breathe it daily, and consider how all your actions will help achieve it.

Stop and think – “is what I’m doing right now aligned to my purpose statement?”

Reflect and change

Take regular time out to revisit your purpose statement.

Make any changes to ensure it stays aligned to your values.

Look out for the next articles in this series – “The Importance of Purpose,” and “The Benefits of Purpose.”

If you need further information about these approaches, or any other resilience topic, please contact russell@theresiliencecoach.co.uk.