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WISDOM IN PURPOSE

A person who lives out his or her purpose is one who has a vision of the larger picture and is driven by a larger cause. Such a person has gone beyond the sphere of career and is living out their calling. I believe my personal purpose is to inspire others and I will inspire through speaking, writing books and leveraging social media. I really believe that as a society, we continue to make progress and grow financially but there’s an ever- present need for inspiration which somehow goes unattended. Depression is one of the fastest growing epidemics of our time. I stumbled upon my purpose when personally going through periods of down times laced with suicidal tendencies.

There’s a huge difference between career and calling. Careers are determined by individual ambition while calling is driven by fulfillment and satisfaction. Careers are linked to accomplishment and accolades while calling culminates in a legacy. Career has a temporary time span while the impact of a calling is permanent it is long lasting. There is a retirement age for careers while calling lasts for a lifetime. Purpose adds flavour and meaning to the journey of life. Purpose will push you beyond the confines of your comfort zone and help you discover your hidden strengths, potential and abilities which were previously undiscovered.

Identifying your purpose is quite easy actually. It is easy if you identify the things that burden you, the things that drive you, the things that you are passionate about and the stuff that keeps you awake at night. These are usually pointers as to what your purpose is. I believe we are born with a purpose. You can choose a career, a vocation, an education but you cannot choose a purpose apart from that which you are wired to accomplish. The pursuit of purpose makes us feel alive as we realize where we fit in the grand scheme of things.

It helps us understand what we are meant to do and just why we were created. Purpose always supersedes success. Purpose is not about monetary gain. Success is temporary but living purposefully is what stays on long after us as our legacy. Purpose benefits those around us as they are influenced or positively affected by us living with our purpose in mind. Success on the other hand usually only benefits us personally. Purposeful living impacts many and requires hard work. More importantly I believe it requires a divine connection.

You could be successful in the eyes of the society, but that doesn't imply being purposeful. However, when you are purposeful you will also be successful. The finest example I have seen of this is the life of Mother Teresa. In many a mind she didn't live a successful life since she didn't have a multi-million enterprise but her life was rife with purpose. This purpose eventually led to a successful life. Successful in the sense of the millions of lives that she rescued, loved, cared for and rehabilitated. Nothing could be more successful than that. Success is a good thing, don't get me wrong. It's just that success without purpose will end up being about the self and not others.

Remember - You only grow when you cause others to grow! That's the basic premise of living a life of purpose!

Things to Consider:

1. Are you facing the consequence of some wrong choices you’ve made in the past? If so, what were the better choices you could’ve made in those situations and how might they have helped you? Write this down to help you choose wisely in the future.

2. Are you someone who is purposely pursing success or successfully pursuing purpose?