Want to Discover Your Purpose? Five Critical Questions

By Jasper Rienstra and originally published on Synnervate Changemakers

Do you know that feeling, that you’re not living life to the full? That something is a bit off? There may well be a destination or a higher purpose for you, but somehow that feels vague, and so you don’t pay much attention to these feelings. You’re not alone in this. Many people who are curious about their essence allow misgivings to hold them back. These are my own top five:

1 What am I really saying yes to?

In a sense, discovering your own purpose feels like taking the red pill from The Matrix: there is no way back. And knowing your purpose but not (fully) living by it can be even more frustrating than having no idea what your purpose is. Blissful ignorance! The red pill symbolises a willingness to recognise your full potential. The next, equally daunting challenge, is to start discovering your purpose.

A tried-and-tested method gives you something solid to rely on. We work with the True Purpose method, which teaches you to communicate with a trusted source (intuition, essence, soul of God – whatever appeals to you) and formulates your purpose in four purpose statements. [From EE: True Purpose.]

2 Can I not find that purpose by myself?

Exploring what you basically already know will get you a long way. What did you want to become as a child? What would you do if you had a million Euros? How would you like to be remembered after your death? But the answers are often too superficial and won’t guide you in a clear direction or help you take action. You might also ask the deeper part of you (intuition, essence, soul or God – whatever appeals to you) what your purpose is. That is a little more difficult and touches on deeper matters.

The trick is not to confuse soul with ego, to ask good questions and to interpret the answers carefully. Asking the questions is a bit like praying, but this prayer will get you some answers, and you can keep asking more questions! In the True Purpose method we look at what generates the highest score emotionally and energetically. In other words, a purpose gives a lot of energy!

3 Am I not making myself too important?

Who am I to think that I can be a blessing to the world? This negative thought crops up frequently when we explain the four aspects of True Purpose: Essence, Blessing, Mission and Message. The words mission, essence and message are not so hard to grasp, but blessing? That sounds pompous and grandiose. And yet all four elements have their own function and are inextricably linked. The Blessing is, as it were, your unique gift to the world. And yes, that is something magnificent.

4 Is a purpose not rather vague?

If you compare it to the results of a career guidance test, then yes. A purpose doesn’t literally tell you what kind of work suits you and what you might say yes or no to tomorrow. A purpose is more like a perfectly functioning internal compass.

In situations where I’m unsure of myself, I always remember my own purpose. I am a warrior of love. I transform pain into love (= my essence and blessing). When I do so, I can feel my energy change. I become more grounded and inspired. My purpose (re)connects me with my heart and gives me courage. To me, these experiences are very concrete and anything but vague.

5 Purpose, that involves bypassing your ego, doesn’t it?

 The ego has a poor image. Often we are advised to ignore what our ego proposes and to go straight for something higher. Very inspiring, but not at all practical. It creates a separation in us. People will experience their ‘inspired self’ at certain moments, connecting them to that higher purpose, but more often than not they experience their ‘daily self’, busy doing the laundry.

The True Purpose method relies on a partnership between your trusted source, focused on inspiration and growth, and your ego, which takes care of primary needs like security and safety. The degree to which you live out your purpose is a choice you can make at any moment, in tune with the stage of life that you are in. Do you have a young family, so that safety and financial security weigh heavily right now? Perhaps you don’t want to disrupt your marriage and the social life that goes with it? Or does it feel like too much hassle to manifest your Essence, Blessing, Mission and Message in every area of your life?

Remember it is your life and you don’t owe anyone an explanation. Of course, now that you have taken the red pill, it is bound to grate a little. You know your purpose and can feel your full potential…