Purposeful living – sounds good, right? Then you try to work out what your purpose is but where do you start? Where does your purpose come from?
So many people seem to get stuck at this point. The search for purpose leaves many people looking for something that will come from outside of themselves – a calling, a revelation from god, the universe, or some undefined thing/ place.
I want to suggest that your purpose is already in you (if you need to make this spiritual – the universe/ your god has made you fit for purpose). Once you accept this everything gets a lot simpler. The best way to understand where you can make a positive difference is to recognise what you bring to the world – your values, your personality, your abilities, your resources, your time, and your compassion – and to find places where you can make a positive difference to the world whilst you are here.
In his book, ‘The Purpose Economy’, Aaron Hurst makes a distinction between ‘purpose’ and ‘cause.’ He defines purpose as an approach shaped by “who we are and what matters to us personally”[1] On the other hand, he defines a ‘cause’ as a singular expression of purpose. If purpose is about finding direction then causes are the destinations along the way.
“Purpose isn’t a cause; it is an approach to work and serving others. Purpose is a verb, not a noun.” (Aaron Hurst)
My mind tends to process this distinction better as being between purpose and missions but it is the same idea. Our purpose is about how we approach the work of serving others. It finds expression in a multitude of contexts – family, community, work and society. In these contexts, we may identify specific missions. Defined opportunities to make a specific difference. During our lifetimes missions will come and go. They will change in their nature. The difference I can make now for my adult children is not the same as it was when they were young and in years to come (should I live long enough) the difference I will make to them when my capacity is limited will be different again.
In chapters 4 to 7 of his book, Hurst suggests a model that breaks down the different ways in which people express their purpose:
“there are three core drivers that will determine whether we feel fulfilled in what we are doing: who we serve, how we serve them, and why we serve them.”[2] Hurst’s ‘purpose patterns’ describe generalized ways in which people answer these three basic questions[3]:
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Who do you work to impact?
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Why do you do what you do?
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How do you achieve that?
The way we answer these questions will be shaped by our values, our personality and, to some extent, our skill set.
Your impact network
Once we embrace the idea that our purpose is an approach to life that will express itself in multiple missions then we can simplify our search for purpose.
One way of doing that is to simply consider what I describe as Your Impact Network. The theory here is that every connection is an opportunity to make a difference. In fact, you could argue that making a difference isn’t a choice. The choice is what kind of difference will you make?
Your impact network falls into three categories:
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Family and friends
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Workplace contacts
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Society (Neighbours, charities, voluntary work, etc)
If then your purpose is an expression of who you are, what is important to you and the difference you want to make, then the questions become:
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What is important to me in this context?
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What is the need that I can meet?
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What difference do I want to make?
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How do I need to turn up to have this impact?
Maybe it is even as simple as asking, in each of these contexts, what would it mean to turn up to be seen?
A thought exercise
Take a piece of paper and draw out your impact network. Be as specific as possible.
When you have identified all the different people and groups in which you have impact ask yourself:
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What is important to me in this context?
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What is the need that I can meet?
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What difference do I want to make?
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How do I need to turn up to have this impact?
[1] Aaron Hurst, The Purpose Economy (Elevate, Idaho, 2014) p.108
[2] Aaron Hurst, The Purpose Economy (Elevate, Idaho, 2014) p.109
[3] Aaron Hurst, The Purpose Economy (Elevate, Idaho, 2014) p.109