Denise Svajlenko's Blog: Joyful Life - Posts Tagged "purpose"

Do you wake up every morning without your alarm, anxious to start your day? Do you scurry to work, beaming with excitement? Are you doing enjoyable work that feeds your soul?

By adulthood, our days are mainly consumed with our work. Work is defined as “an activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a result”. Most of us must work in order to support ourselves and our families. Even if we have retired, much of our day is spent doing odd jobs or doing some sort of part-time work. Yet, many of us don’t consider the work that we are doing to be meaningful and fulfilling.

Research has demonstrated that only a marginal percentage of the population deem themselves to be content and have successful careers. What differentiates this group from the majority who are unsatisfied in their jobs, is that the satisfied have deliberately chosen career paths that have incorporated their passions and interests into their work. These are the folks who knew from a young age what their calling was. For example, the classroom enthusiasts who loved to help the teacher and excessively practiced teaching, and so became educators. Or the young science and medical enthusiasts who voraciously read medical books and were certain that they wanted to save lives, and so became doctors. Purpose is defined as “the reason for something”. Our purpose or life calling is the reason why we rush out of bed every morning, eager to start work. If we are part of the minority who are lucky enough to find a career that is also our life calling or purpose, then we are truly blessed.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t really know what we want to do or even how to discover what type of work will invigorate us? So, what can we do? I am suggesting that your first step is taking a deep dive and looking into your past to rediscover and reconnect with your interests and passions. What can’t you not do? What have you done in the past that you don’t notice time, and hours go by without looking at your watch? What made or makes you feel so fulfilled while you are doing it, that you don’t want to stop? What comes natural to you that you love to do? Our passions lead us to our purpose. Spiritual guru Bishop T.D. Jakes tells us “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose.” It is never too late to uncover our passions.

But what if you have fallen into your work more out of necessity and it is not your life purpose? Once we are immersed into our daily work routines, it becomes more difficult for us to leave. Life takes over and there are many reasons, mostly financial, of why we stay and continue to do work that leaves us feeling empty. If you are stuck doing unfulfilled work in order to pay your bills, there are still ways that you can include some of your passions into your workday. You can intentionally spend your time and focus on your passions before work, after work, or during your spare time at work. You can also see if there are any ways that you can add your passions directly into your job. For example, if you are an extrovert and gifted organizer, perhaps you can volunteer to run your work social club. These short-term solutions will bring you some joy into your workday, until you have more time to fully devote to your passions. As Oprah has been quoted as saying, “Do what you have to do until you can do what you want.”

Retirement is that time for many of us when we have the time to do what we really want to do. It is probably the most crucial time in our lives when we require a life purpose, even though we may no longer need paid work. We now have the time to review our past in order to understand what has brought us joy, and to find our path to our life calling. Perhaps you have a green thumb and love gardening, you now have the time to cultivate plants and/or vegetables that you can share with your family and neighbours. Maybe you have singing talents and acting abilities, you can now join non-profit theatre groups to showcase your performing arts skills to your community. Or possibly you love travel and adventure. You can become a tour guide or plan and organize trips for others. The possibilities are endless.

Another common theme of a life calling or purpose, is that it often involves service or helping others. Our purpose may change, and we can have more than one purpose in our life. An early life calling may have been mothering, but as your children grow up and start raising families of their own, your role changes and you must seek your next purpose. What must you do that truly nourishes your soul? When I retired from my full-time career, I reconnected with many of my passions. I love spending my days researching and booking travel and writing my weekly Spiritual Life blog. I even spent months writing a book that was eventually published. I know I am fulfilling my purpose because when I am doing what I love to do, the time flies by, and, I have received many inspirational messages from readers who have told me how my stories have resonated and helped them.

There have been many insightful books written on finding our calling and purpose, by authors such as Viktor Frankl, Eckhart Tolle, and Rick Warren, to name a few. The common theme is that the purpose of our life is to live a life of purpose. If we are using our gifts and passions and doing what we love to do, then we will be fulfilled and experience true happiness. One of my favourite newer books on this topic is the book “Think like a Monk: Train your mind for peace and purpose every day” by best-selling author Jay Shetty. The author provides readers with practical advice on how we all can live a life of intention and purpose by thinking like a monk. Many of his life observations resonated with me. One of the most important lessons that he teaches from his monk perspective, is to ignore the noise of others, such as parents, friends, education, and the media. They all tell us what we should be doing and what will make us happy, yet only we can know our own life calling and what our true purpose is that will bring us real happiness.

One of my favorite older books is “The Alchemist” by best-selling author Paulo Coelho, who tells the tale of a spiritual journey of finding one’s true self and purpose in life. The story reveals that we are all born with a purpose, that is deep within us, and that it is up to us to discover our own unique purpose. It is only when we discover our life purpose, that we be blessed to live a life filled with abundance and joy. I would love to know what your life purpose is.