Quote:
Originally Posted by radeldudel  Steve, there is one thing that bugs me about this.
It is, you (and other growth-specialists like James Ray) recommend to have a life purpose.
A single life purpose, like yours for personal development.
What do you do if you can't decide on a purpose?
I ask because I do a lot of stuff, most of it generating income (owning a programming business, teaching how to dance, blogging, fotografie, I even translated an angel channeler), but I kind of lack a greater goal to pull this all together, and sometimes I just wonder what I want to achieve with my life.
cheers,
Sam |
Hey Sam,
What you're describing is an entirely different challenge. What we're talking about is more of skill development and career choices. What you're wrestling with is finding a meaning in your life. That is different from mastering something.
What you need is a mission statement. A single set of principles that permeate everything you do. I'd like to think about it in four different areas: identity, value, vision, and method.
Identity is about who you are. Who are you? Are you courageous? Reliable? Honest? A Lutheran with strong Scandinavian heritage?
Sometimes what you do becomes a part of your identity. Which activity do you associate as "you?" Programming? Blogging? Philisophizing?
Next, think of what you value -- peaceful and quiet life, or an adventurous and thrilling life? What's the ideal ratio between pursuing your personal interest vs. helping others meet their needs?
Third is vision. Knowing who you are and what you value, what do you see yourself doing? Think of both destinations (objectives, goals, things you want to accomplish before you die) and paths (things you enjoy doing, where the act itself, not the benefits they produce, bring you satisfaction).
Out of the three come the methods -- they inform what specifically you want to do in your life.
I admit, this is a blog post brewing in my head for a long time and I haven't been able to articulate it really well. But I think you'll find that there are a lot of common grounds between these four areas -- you're thinking of four different things, but your list will end up looking somewhat similar. Distill those and create a mission statement. That'll guide and inform what you do and how you go about it in your life.
Then you won't feel like all your varied activities aren't adding up to anything -- well, if they aren't, then you'll know what to discard and what to keep. Have fun!
ari