Knowing your purpose in life seems like it should be a relatively easy endeavor.
Yet for far too many of us, our search for the meaning of our life eludes our best intentions and desire. Having been helping both individuals and organizations define their purpose since the 1980s, we at On-Purpose Partners hear common misstatements that create misdirection and confusion. They result in repeating and non-resolving patterns that kill time but don’t provide true purpose or sustainable grounding and satisfaction.
1. “I don’t know what to do with my life.”
This statement is a clear indication that this person thinks they’re searching for their purpose when they’re actually asking about mission. Looking for “what to do” instead of “who they are” is the essence of this misdirected, but well-intended, pursuit.
Mission is being thought about, not purpose, per se. Knowing one’s purpose would be informative and helpful to answer the question. In short, if you’re looking for the wrong thing then it is unlikely you’ll find what you need even if you actually find it. You won’t be able to recognize it.
2. “I don’t know where to start in finding my purpose in life.”
The absence of a process or method is very typical of purpose seekers. They’re susceptible to anything or anyone who uses the word purpose because they have no basis for understanding it. Thanks to ONPURPOSE.me, you know where to start and you know you’re only minutes from knowing your 2-word purpose in life.
3. “I feel like there is a calling upon my life, but I don’t know my purpose.”
Purpose and calling are often confused. Calling is a high and noble expression of purpose. Purpose is deeper and actually apart from or exclusive from calling. Purpose stands on its own, whereas calling needs purpose to give it “spiritual juice.”
A great confuser here is the book The Purpose Driven Life by Pastor Rick Warren. The book is a meaningful and successful devotional, but it is a message of five missions and not one purpose. A more apropos name for the book might have been The Mission Driven Life, or better yet The Mission Called Life. The book helps us figure out what to do with our lives (see number 1 above) much more than it helps us know why we exist.
You have been called, not driven, to your missions and given the free will to respond or not. Not responding results in the unsatisfying, low-energy state of being off-purpose. Answering the call results in being on-purpose.
4. “I feel like I’ve missed my chance at knowing my purpose in life.”
Wrong! Purpose doesn’t pass us by like a bus. We are our purpose. It is always with us. We were born with it, we live with it, we die with it, and we take it into eternity with us. Purpose is our spirit so we can’t separate ourselves from it, but we can ignore or deny it.
The On-Purpose Approach found in The On-Purpose Person provides both the methods and standards for discerning and defining your purpose, vision(s), mission(s), and values. We offer one-on-one personal purpose coaching as well.
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel about finding your purpose in life.
Since the late 1980s, On-Purpose Partners has inspired and guided hundreds of thousands of people around the world to discover their 2-word purpose statement and align their life choices with their purpose — being on-purpose. As Kevin W. McCarthy says in the video, we just need you to be the “you” who you were designed to be and become.
Help is here!
Move from questioning your life to finding your purpose and knowing your power, and give bolder expression to your life — live on-purpose!
Yes, I want to find my purpose
P.S. A big thank you to Justin Ramb, CEO/Chief Creative Officer of BIG EYE Agency. He invited Kevin to participate in their BIG Thinkers video series and produced the wonderful video of Kevin shown above. Thank you!
