Finding Purpose: The Flower Among The Weeds

Sometimes the difficulty in being clear about your life purpose or calling stems from abundance rather than scarcity: so many things that you are interested in, and are capable of doing. Purpose is one of what I call The 7 Dimensions of wisdom, which are competencies and skills that are essential for a fulfilling life.

Here is a place to start in clarifying your purpose. Looking back over your own history, what constructive activities have you consistently engaged in, gotten satisfaction from, and been competent in; that you would continue to do without being paid? These activities could be work or career related, or part of your personal or family life; but should probably also provide some real benefit to others. Since most people have to work to make a living, it is certainly a plus if your purpose also happens to be something that can help earn your living. In that way, you don’t have to spend 40 plus hours per week doing something that is disconnected from your purpose. But it is very possible to work a job just for income and to pursue your calling outside of your work.

To use myself as an example, there are two activities that fall into that category of purpose as I reflect back on my life. These are 1) writing, usually essays or journal entries that are reflections and observations about the inner life and outer experiences, mine and other people’s; and 2) playing music on the flute. The first is connected to my career as a psychologist, business consultant, and professor; while the second has been a consistent extracurricular activity. I am repeatedly drawn to these two activities even when no other person is involved. They give me pleasure, and they clear my head, giving me a heightened sense of being in the present. But both of them have also become well developed social activities that provide for an exchange of satisfaction and value between me and other people within the context of organizations.

Of course, even when you identify that your purpose falls within a general area, such as writing essays about human behavior or gardening, there is still plenty of room within that to lose focus. So it becomes a daily discipline to rediscover what is truly meaningful to you and what you should be doing today to meet that purpose, amid all the other demands in your life. It is helpful to have a theme or model as a reference point. The model that is helping me right now is SOPPHIA – The 7 Dimensions of Wisdom. For example, today’s topic (Purpose) is the first ‘P’ in the acronym SOPPHIA. You can learn about the other six from my previous essays or on my website (www.sopphia.com).

So find a theme, idea or model that has value for you, and can help you focus on your purpose. If you are a gardener, perhaps there is a particular species of flower that speaks to you (not literally). Remember though that a theme, model or a theory is only a useful metaphor for reality. Don’t take it too seriously. Keep it as long as it continues to serve that purpose of guiding and stimulating creative thinking and action; separating the flowers from the weeds.