Moving Past Resistance and Into Your Purpose
Six Strategies for Living a Life of Fulfillment & Meaning
One of the greatest struggles we all face — the struggle of being human — is moving out of a fear-driven, ego-based existence and into the fulfillment of the present. We all struggle to get out of our heads and into our hearts. When we do — even for a brief moment — comes the joy that is Presence. While our spiritual practices like meditation are key to living in the moment, so is a daily intention of purpose.
Purpose is ‘that thing’ that keeps us motivated, inspired, less checked out and tuned out. It breathes life into what can often feel like a lifeless existence. When we are clear on what our purpose is in this moment, in this day, in this life and on this planet, the anxiety lessens and the fear subsides. But, we resist it. We hide from it and we shun it. And then, we do it all over again tomorrow, the next day and the following.
If that sounds like you, make the decision to Stop.
If that looks like you, make the decision to Change.
If that is you, set an intention of Purpose.
Why Purpose, Why Now?
Humans need purpose — a sense of unique contribution and meaning. Since the beginning of time to this very moment, we’ve been seeking it. Consciously and unconsciously, we long for meaning, the need to make a difference and to leave a personal legacy when we move on from this existence. We want to know that what we do matters and we want it to fill our souls.
There are moments in history where ‘that need’ gets elevated. We are currently in one of those moments; As it’s usually during times of fear and uncertainty that this need within us is heightened. We find that we need to connect and find purpose on a deeper level as we look inward to make sense of all the chaos around us. When you come to realize your ‘reason for being’ and take intentional actions towards it daily, you unlock a deeper sense of personal happiness and consciousness.
Why ‘Your Why’ Matters.
If it isn’t immediately obvious, your why matters because YOU matter. When we move beyond a ‘functional existence’ into one that’s fulfilling both spiritually and emotionally, we bring greater joy to those around us. In fact, you may not identify that the current unhappiness or lack of fulfillment and satisfaction in your life is due to a lack of purpose. When we lack purpose in our lives, we become anxious, depressed, fearful and even angry.
Your Purpose Doesn’t Need to Be About ‘Saving the World.’
If you’re in a place where you don’t know what your purpose is, spend more time listening to that inner voice. Get quiet; Sit and meditate, often. Journal. The answer is within — you just have to get quiet enough to hear it. In fact, the more you wake up, evolve and become more conscious, you will find that your purpose will expand and grow. At first, you might learn that you’re no longer complacent with work that doesn’t challenge you or speak to your soul. Or, as you get even more quiet, you might find deep satisfaction in work that was once boring, as you connect to the part of yourself that wants to serve.
The more we go inward, the more we discover the importance that purpose plays in our lives. That purpose might be to bring more joy to those around you, perhaps it’s to be a healer, or a mother to those in need. Only YOU know. But one thing is for sure. As you dare to believe that you have a unique purpose and that that purpose is inherently good — even if it’s not to ‘save the world — you will live a life of deeper fulfillment. When you realize your purpose, is when it will all start to wildly flourish.
How Resistance Will Show Up.
The moment you begin to take any tangible steps towards living your purpose, resistance will make an appearance. That is guaranteed. For many of you, it will do more than make an appearance, it will try to dominate, take-over and thwart you completely. You will be able to easily recognize it because it only knows one language — fear. In these moments, it’s important to remember that it is not YOU; It is not YOUR truth. Identifying it takes away its power and gives you the ability to confront it head on. Here are some likely ways it will show up:
· It will lie to you and deceive you (e.g., your purpose isn’t worthy or ‘it’s already been done’)
· It will put you down and devalue you (e.g., you don’t have what it takes)
· It will procrastinate, finding ‘more important’ things to do
· It will binge on TV, food or other guilty pleasures
· It will make you pessimistic or jealous (e.g., envious of those living a purpose you perceive as similar to yours)
· It will make you irrational (e.g., there’s just not enough time!)
· It will use fear to threaten, intimidate and throw you of course — often
Six Strategies for Living Your Purpose.
Once you move into a daily intention of living your purpose, your life will be filled with deeper meaning and fulfillment. To guide you and help you to stay the course are six key strategies. They work, no matter where you currently are in your own purpose journey.
1) Make the Decision To Live Your Purpose, NOW. No matter where you believe you are in discovering, actualizing or living your purpose, make the decision right now to LIVE it. Make the decision now, in this moment. (Congratulations…you are now living your purpose). Shift your thinking that purpose is a destination to be reached. Purpose is entirely about the journey. So, if you haven’t yet “realized” your life purpose, you are still living your purpose because you just made the decision to live a life of purpose; In that journey you are currently in the discovery phase. No matter where you are in your purpose journey, each day, make the decision and set the intention to actively and fully live it.
2) Be Honest About ‘Your Why.’ YOU know what your purpose is now and you always have known it. You know what excites you, fulfills you and what makes you happy. Your purpose is your soul’s deepest wish and desire. Because we have both a soul and an ego, many of us have hid from our purpose, because our egos don’t want us to be happy. But, YOU do know what it is… whatever that deepest — often scariest — desire is, is a clue into your life’s purpose. Decide to walk directly through the fear and make the bold decision to be honest about WHAT it is — no matter what you or others think about it. Revisit that honesty regularly, as a continual and important step in your purpose journey.
3) Let Yourself Be Guided. Each day invite in guidance and then allow yourself TO BE guided. If this is a new concept for you, start by making the decision to trust and believe that you are being guided (I promise you, you are). Then, ask for guidance in the form of signs that you can understand. They may appear in the form of a “gut feeling” or intuition about a particular course of action. Your guidance may show up in something you read or that’s put in front of you, or even in advice that’s freely given. When you OPEN yourself up to receiving answers and direction, it always comes. Always.
4) Seek Hope & Embrace Failure. Purpose is fueled by hope, belief and faith. Don’t seek to hold onto hope, seek to intensify your hope each day through affirming your purpose and any dreams that are tied to it. Know that no matter what is showing up around you, your purpose is real, it’s alive and it is happening in this moment. When something that you perceive as failure happens — and I hope it does — embrace it. What you perceive as failure is often a MUST in your purpose journey, as your journey will continuously evolve and deepen.
5) Notice, Then Quiet the Resistance Within You. As indicated before, your ego-based resistance will speak to you through fear. In fact, it will scream at you from the highest frequencies of fear because it does not want you to change. It wants to keep things the same. Learning to identify and then ignore your “ego voice” is a critical muscle to exercise. The goal is to take actions based on your soul’s inner guidance, not your ego’s. In other words, make decisions that are anchored in love, not fear. To start, set the daily intention to notice your ego voice; To hear it. Then, as you begin to observe it, take a moment to pause. Just pause. In that moment of observation, reaffirm YOUR truth.
6) Make Your Purpose the Present Moment (meditate). Approach each day as it truly is — new. Today has never happened before and we have no idea what’s to be. Every day is a fresh start. Intend to begin anew, every moment of every day. What happened yesterday or even five minutes ago — good or bad — has no implication on your purpose journey today. Make it your absolute purpose to live in the moment. If you don’t meditate, start. If you do, increase it. Practices like meditation that anchor you to the present moment are absolutely critical to living your purpose. It’s only when you approach each day from your present state of being that you are fully living your purpose.
