What is your purpose? This is probably one of the most difficult questions that anyone can ask you. It also makes us very uncomfortable when we have to talk about it. However, if you really know your purpose, pursuing it is the key to living a fulfilling life.
I believe the answers to three questions are the way that you can determine your life’s purpose. The first question is, “What Am I Good At?”. Each of us has skills, capabilities, and natural abilities. There is a tendency to believe that we have to be the world’s best in order to say that we are good at something. This is not the case. Consider anything where you are better than average as something you are good at. So begin the process of determining your purpose by making a list of everything that you can think of where you have better than average capabilities.
The second question is, “What Do I Like To Do?”. I think it is impossible to be achieving your life’s purpose doing something that you don’t like to do, even though you may be good at it. I am a classic example. I spent five years getting my bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. I was always good at science and math, so this seemed like a good fit for a career. I graduated near the top of my class, but really never became passionate about the field. I stayed in school and got an MBA which opened my eyes to other career possibilities. I was fortunate to find a job out of college that allowed me to use my engineering background in a business oriented job. Although I spent almost 30 years in the chemicals industry, I never did chemical engineering.
A way to begin answering the question about what you like to do, is to think about what you would be doing if making a living didn’t matter. In some instances, people get into careers because of the money or demand, then find out they made a bad choice. For instance, our research shows that most people who get into teaching and are driven primarily by money, leave the profession within five years. On the other hand, most who are driven by helping people, stay in it for a lifetime.
The third question is “How Do I Want To Be Compensated?” for what I do. Compensation doesn’t have to be in the form of money. It can be in the form of recognition or prestige, it can be having an impact on others, it can be in terms of material things, or other forms of personal satisfaction. By the way, there is nothing wrong with be driven by material gain – what we are driven by and our moral character are two different things. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are two of the richest people in the world. They are clearly driven by financial success, yet both are committed to using their wealth to help others and make the world better.
Your first reaction may be that the third question is unnecessary or irrelevant. You might say, “If I am doing what I am good at and what I like to do, aren’t I fulfilling my purpose?” The problem with this line of reasoning is that it fails to take into account the need to see results from our activities and pursuits. My daughter is a good example. She is an accomplished pianist and got a partial music scholarship to attend a private university. She was very good at playing the piano and she liked to do it. She practiced on her own without any prodding from us. Part way through college, she realized that she would likely not be able to make what she considered a meaningful living as a musical performer, so she chose a different career path. She now has her own PR firm specializing in being a publicist for musicians. She found a different way to channel her likes and skills into something that provided a meaningful return to her.
Determining your purpose is not a quick or easy activity, but can be the most meaningful thing you do in your life. Begin the process by answering the three questions, and figuring out where the answers overlap.
Author Resource:
Ryan Scholz works with leaders whose success is dependent on getting commitment and high performance from others. He is author of Turning Potential into Action: Eight Principles for Creating a Highly Engaged Work Place. For more information, visit his web site at http://www.lead-strat-assoc.com
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