What's Your Purpose?

It’s common when we get to midlife to begin questioning the meaning of life.
Is this all there is?

What is the purpose of life?

What do I want?

What is MY purpose?

This search for meaning is a conversation I have so often with new clients who are feeling stuck and questioning everything.

The questions arise because somewhere along the path of life, we have become disconnected from our truth. The truth of who we are.

We get caught up in the duties and obligations of life and mould ourselves to fit the people, places, and situations that we need to. We become who we need to be to do the things we need to do. It happens so slowly and imperceptibly that we don’t even realize that we’ve left parts of ourselves behind.

And then, at some point, we realize that something is off. We can’t quite put our finger on what, but we know something is missing, and the search for meaning and purpose begins. Do I need a new career? Am I doing what I meant to be doing? Am I happy with my life?

The purpose we seek, however, is not outside ourselves. It’s not found in a new career, a relationship, or a change of location. In fact, the search for these answers is what keeps us feeling stuck.

The purpose and meaning we seek exist inside us; to return to, or in some cases, discover our truest, most authentic selves. Who are we beneath, the roles we play, and the obligations we serve? We cannot evaluate our external lives until we know who we are underneath it all. Anchoring into OUR truth may or may not lead to something new outside ourselves.

This time of life is all about sharing our wisdom and gifts with the world, and we can’t fully see or understand our gifts when we are not standing in the truest, most authentic version of ourselves.
So how do we find and connect with our truth?

Here are some quick tips I share with all my clients.

• Create space for the quiet voice inside you whether that be through breath-work, meditation, journaling, or simply doing something you love. Quiet your mind enough to hear the soft voice inside. What are the little nudges and whispers saying?
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• Go back to your childhood. What were the things you loved to do? What are things that you dreamed about? Who were you before life got in the way?
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• What is the secret dream or longing that you quickly dismiss as soon it pops up? Instead of immediately pushing it away, play with it for a bit. You may or may not end up doing that exact thing, but as you allow it to grow, the path will reveal new things and parts of you that maybe you’ve never met before.
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• Build a relationship with your intuition. You know, those quiet gut feelings and fleeting thoughts. Give them some space. Write it down or say it out loud. What if you acted as if it were true? Often the most profound soul wisdom and deepest insight come in the softest, quietest thoughts.

I’d love to know. What parts of you have you discovered, or now are discovering at this time of your life?

Jennifer