Knowing who you are would seem to be an essential ingredient in living a purposeful life, so we are hoping that these questions help you figure out who you are.
What other questions would help uncover your identity?
Listening in to conversations it appears that most teenagers and adults have a struggle with time. There are so many demands on us. Life in colleges and in the work place is pressured. We can get drowned by the flood of information bearing down on us.
Many people said that they are ‘busy’ people; they always have lots to do ….. and seldom have time to do all they undertake – so time flies by. It can feel as though we are living in the future, not in the present – days fly quickly away following one another, from morning to evening, in a crazy run. We have the feeling we are living not in the actual day appearing on the calendar, but some weeks ahead. We develop a habit of trying to do too much. Despite a wealth of experience that shows that invariably things take longer than expected, we still start off too many things and then get frustrated that they are moving forward more slowly than we would like.
What’s your experience?
Hoping to publish a book of the same title soon:
This book is a practical guide full of tips on how to unearth your unique purpose in life and enjoy a better relationship with time. It is aimed particularly at people who:
(a) Are starting to question the meaning and purpose of life and who are already sensing that time is flying by; and/or
(b) Feel unfulfilled in their lives and are considering a change of career; and/or
(c) Have read books on time management and still feel that time flies by, are open to explore possible solutions and want practical tips that are easy to implement and which will have long-lasting effects; or
(d) Are currently out of work and want to do some ‘internal research’ to map out suitable career options.
The book will help you examine your current relationship with time, develop your own Purposeful Life action plan, overcome barriers to change, use your time more intentionally, replan your career and choose some ideas to sustain you on your journey.
Really engaging with the content of this book will offer you help to lead the life you were born to live. You could choose to ignore this opportunity, but who wants to end up as an 80 or 90 year old mumbling to yourself ‘If only……………….. If only…………………..’?
Looking back over my life I can see that I was conditioned as a child into the belief that I had to work hard in order to get on. In my case this conditioning was reinforced at the age of 13 when my father died and I resolved to work hard in order to create a safe gap between myself (and later my family) and poverty. When I was in my mid twenties and earning a reasonable salary I did not ease off because others around me were also working hard. Working hard and doing lots of things became the norm. It’s easy to become addicted to work or rather to the emotions connected to work e.g. ‘The client was delighted with my work’, ‘I’m proud to be seen as an expert on leadership’.
It’s clear that I am not alone in being continually busy and ‘doing things.’ It is as though our whole society has been enticed to step onto a giant hamster wheel called ‘Busyness’, where it has become uncomfortable to raise questions such as ‘Where is this leading me; what’s all this in aid of; and what am I on this planet for?
What’s your experience?
I invite you to consider the questions I thought about in order to understand my own Purposeful Life:
We need to dig deeper, to go to the centre of ourselves in order to unearth our purpose; only then can we start working to create a more purposeful, intentional life, the life we really want.
Thoughts on the elements of Meaning and Purpose:
Most learning and development programmes, including coaching, place the emphasis on being more effective at doing things and most of the time is spent on the outer two levels.
Our approach to support individuals in finding greater meaning and purpose in their lives is to start with the inner circles of “beliefs and values,” “identity,” and “spiritual” (connected to something bigger than self).
Throughout our discussions we encourage people to maintain a balance over the dimensions of:
Also at an organizational level:
How does your organization talk about it’s meaning and purpose in the world?
How aligned do you feel with your organization’s purpose?
To what extent does your organization live its values?
Sources: Robert Dilts, Dr. Marjo Lips-Wiersma, Steven Covey.
Does time rush by for you?
What practical tips do you have to slow down time?
