At some point in your working life there may come a time when you ask yourself ‘why am I doing this?’ Working for the sole purpose of earning a living, or for achieving personal gain, often fails to provide fulfilment. That’s where a sense of purpose comes in. The greater your purpose the more motivated you will feel to invest time and energy.
Here are 8 benefits of leading your life with purpose:
Setting Goals
It is important to note the difference between purpose and goals. A goal exists to serve your purpose, not act as your purpose. Purpose is the driving force behind our actions. It guides the goals that we set. Our chosen purpose is often much greater than ourselves. It encompasses more than the sum of the goals we create as we work towards it.
Value-Driven Actions
Our chosen purpose reflects our values. Consciously living with purpose enables us to lead a values-based life. Our most effective actions are often anchored in our values. Embracing values-driven action is one way of knowing that we are on a path that is right for us.
Clarity
Striving for a personally meaningful purpose provides us with direction. Being clear on your purpose and the goals required to achieve that purpose makes you virtually unstoppable. This level of clarity helps us connect with like-minded people who can amplify our potential. Clarity has a way of drawing the things you need into your life.
Focus
Purpose helps us stay focused on what truly matters. Being able to maintain mental clarity and avoid distractions, makes worries and challenges less daunting.
Passion
Knowing your purpose can lead you to your passion, and being passionate about your goals increases your drive to achieve them. Having meaning behind your actions can make even the most mundane aspects of your life feel brighter.
Leadership
Identifying and communicating a shared purpose is an important leadership skill. Those you lead will contribute more effectively when they feel that they are contributing to something more meaningful than their basic job requirements. As a business owner, entrepreneur or team leader it is important to express and reinforce an organisational purpose. Those you lead may be less clear on it than you are. Purpose unites teams behind common goals and increases engagement and enthusiasm.
Integrity
Knowing your purpose enables you to live and act with integrity. It becomes easier to behave in accordance with your core values because you know who you are, what you are and why you are performing the role you have chosen.
Gratification
Our purpose is expressed in our thoughts, decisions, feelings and actions. A greater sense of purpose shapes us and our lives, meaning we are better able to make an impact. This makes life highly gratifying.
Whatever your purpose may be, once you find it, own it and observe as your life takes shape around it. Finding your sense of purpose not only aids your journey, it determines the paths of those you lead, the destiny of your business and in some way, the future of the world.
If you haven’t found your purpose, make it your purpose to find it now.
