Overview
Take some time to discover your purpose. Here I outline a method for working out it all. I see your purpose as the starting point of your future. You need to know where you are starting from before you can choose the path to your destination.
Why bother with a purpose statement?
Most of us meander through life hoping that somehow we will get lucky and things will work out. It’s a basic belief that the gambling industry – one of the biggest industries in the world – exploits for its own gain. Perhaps this will be the week that your lottery numbers will come up and life will improve for you. However there are a few who have grasped the simple truth that life is not about getting lucky breaks from nowhere but is about making your own lucky breaks.
Of course life is harder for some than for others but just because life is tough doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful – it might just take a little extra effort!
The place to start is with understanding yourself and what you are about. How can you ever make a decision, or know how to spend your valuable time if you don’t know what your priorities are and what talents you can use to achieve your goals?
A purpose statement is about taking some time to reflect on who you are. You examine your various qualities, what talents you might have and what things you value. At the end of the process you should have a clear idea of what you stand for. Although its possible to arrive at a similar statement to others what it means to you will be unique.
Then you should remind yourself regularly what you purpose statement is. It will help you prioritise your time and encourage you to employ your talents wisely.
How do I develop a purpose statement?
I recommend following every step thoughtfully and carefully but its up to you. If you just want to jump in and write your statement now you can.
You need to work out what your Qualities, Gifts and Values are.
Sit down with a piece of paper and make three lists.
The first list is your qualities – that is the things that make you who you are. Are you a patient person? Do you like helping people? Are you an enthusiastic person. If you struggle with this then ask your friends to help you. Forget about all the stuff that you are not because those things can’t help you move forwards. This is not a psychological profile we are simply trying to get a statement that tells you what you can use to move towards your vision.
The second is your gifts – that is what talents do you have? This is a little like the qualifications part of a job application. What can you already do? What do you do well? Again ask your friends to help.
The third is your values – what values are most important in the world (in your opinion)? Do you value love? Do you value money? Do you value faith?
Once you have your lists you need to pick some of the most important ones to go into your purpose statement. It will be very hard to do but pick out the most important ones to you.
Now you can start writing your statement. Make it positive and simple. The idea is to have a simple statement that can inspire you to keep going on those days when things get a little tough. Don’t get carried away with lots of words and vague concepts you want something that is meaningful and powerful (to you).
I’ve read a lot of purpose statements that were so ‘out there’ that they were no use to anyone. You are making a tool to use, not trying to win a competition. Your statement is not meant to be better than anyone else’s it is meant to be useful to you.
You should avoid using long words. What you need is a statement that will describe who you are in as few words as possible.
Here are three examples (using just one word from each list); you will use your own qualities, gifts and values of course:
My purpose is to be a friend to all (quality), to listen to those in need (gift), to love without barriers (value).
I am a great leader (quality) who is great at making plans (gift) and who is very wealthy (value).
God made me to share (quality) with others through public speaking (gift) how great his love (value) is for all.
Of course you will be more creative than the above examples when you create your own. However if you are completely stuck then just list the things you have discovered. It’s better to have a list you can use than nothing at all. The purpose should be something you can remember fairly easily. You should write it down somewhere you can see it whenever you need it.
The last thing to tell you is that this is not set in stone. Tomorrow when you look at it you might want to change something. Go right ahead and make the changes.
Congratulations you have made an important step in getting in your personal success.
