To Be Purposeful Requires Self Esteem

“Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself, and know that everything in life has purpose. There are no mistakes, no coincidences, all events are blessings given to us to learn from.”
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross – Psychiatrist, Author ~

Consciously Purposeful

You are on purpose unconsciously as is everyone else. To have the determination to be ‘consciously’ purposeful and pursue your purpose, demands you have a level of self esteem which motivates you to take the risks involved.

Born with Self Esteem

You were born with this self esteem; everyone starts out with it. However, to survive you had to negotiate with the giants around you. In so doing you unconsciously covered up much of your self esteem by picking up some of the beliefs of others. You are driven to uncover more of your self esteem so you can get on with your purpose.

Your purpose is the reason for your existence, the path to your genius … and so, your future.

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.”
Henry David Thoreau – Writer, Philosopher

Born Believing in Yourself
Have you ever watched very young children at play?  They have so much self worth and self esteem, and are so self-confident, so deeply involved in what they are doing … so purposeful. They are born with that approach and attitude; that perception of self best described as: “I can be anything, do anything and have anything! Watch out world, here I come!”

Now watch the rest of us. Watch our sporadic self-confidence, sporadic engagement and sporadic involvement in what we are doing. Notice how often we are distracted by other things outside and inside of our self.

What has happened? Where did our focus and purposefulness go?

Definitions
Let’s define some working definitions for our discussion. Let’s say self worth is valuing yourself as you are today.  Let’s say self esteem is valuing yourself as compared to others. Let’s say self-confidence is believing you can deal with a challenge.

“See” Your Self Esteem

Find some pictures of yourself as a baby, toddler or preschooler. Videos are even better if you have them. Study them carefully and notice the expressions on your face. Notice how you look at the camera. Can you see your self worth, self esteem and self confidence? It has to be there. Biologically you were born with them. That is what you are seeing in those pictures and what we all see when we watch young children play. You uncover more self esteem through experience. You build more self-confidence over time through the accumulation of your life’s experiences.

Our Species is Unique
Since every thing in the universe has a job or purpose in being here, so each person, including you, has their own unique task to serve the universe’s evolution. Each of us, you included, are serving the universe’s purpose right now.  Since you, as a thinking human, can dissociate, can think about thinking, can express your purpose in words, think and talk about it. No other species does this, we are unique.

 “Our minds are finite, and yet even in these circumstances of finitude we are surrounded by possibilities that are infinite, and the purpose of life is to grasp as much as we can out of that infinitude.”
Alfred North Whitehead – Mathematician, Philosopher

The Cost of Being Purposeful

To take on the responsibility of knowing your purpose is a big one. Because once you know your purpose, it means you start self evaluating everything you do in relation to your purpose. In this way you are constantly monitoring if you are being purposeful, if your are doing your purposeful job. This expectation can create self imposed pressure or stress.

The Benefit
At the same time when you are satisfied with your purposeful efforts you experience more gratitude for your life, more certainty of who you are and more appreciation for your life as it is.

The “Benefits” of the Doubt
To take on the inherent risks of being consciously purposeful requires you to step into the unknown to give yourself the benefit of the doubt … self esteem. It can be like walking into a strange, pitch-dark room. It requires trust in yourself you will be able to handle the implications of what you uncover when the light is turned on in that strange, dark room of self awareness. It is not for the faint of heart. It requires a strong measure of all three of those terms we just mentioned: self worth, self esteem and self confidence.

“Life without purpose is a languid, drifting thing, every day we ought to review our purpose, saying it to ourselves.”
Thomas Kempis – Theologian, Author

It Scares Many People
Many are afraid of the responsibilities of knowing their purpose. It scares them. They think it is too much responsibility, too much stress, too much risk of failure. They avoid uncovering their purpose. Many try to keep the level of awareness with the level of their favorite pet or some other external being or activity.

Dollo’s Law
Yet, because we are living and therefore learning constantly, we are driven by our very nature, by our mind, to seek to be more consciously purposeful. We are driven to evolve in compliance with Dollo’s Law which simply states we cannot, not evolve. Nature makes us smarter every day … we can’t get dumber!

“Purpose in life is what gives life a meaning!”
Charles H. Pankhurst – Social Reformer, Pastor

Are You Ready?
If you are ready for this level of awareness, this level of personal accountability to yourself it will lead you to an inspired life. This life will be full of interest, insight and inspiration. It will grow not just your appreciation for yourself but also your life and everything else.

This is the destiny of each of us. So, if you want to start uncovering your purpose check out our Take Away Tool below.
Namaste,
Ken

POINTS TO PONDER AND REMEMBER are:

1. Every thing in the universe has a specific purpose from a grain of sand to you.
2. Every thing is on purpose but only humans can be conscious of their purpose.
3. When you are on purpose consciously you have gratitude for your life as it is, certainty about who you are and appreciation of both the pain and equal pleasure of your life.
4. Consciousness of purpose is living an inspiring life, a committed life and displaying a high energy level in the process.
5. Purposeful people can often state their life purpose in 5-7 words which explains to them their life journey.
6. Each person’s purpose is a manifestation of some form of love and so contributes to our species’ evolution.
7. Your purpose is a journey and not a destination and so will not be achieved in your life time, it is bigger than that.
8. When you are consciously on your purpose time and space collapse into a state of love for life as it is.
9. There are many ways to uncover your purpose. Asking yourself seven questions will work if answered carefully and truthfully.
10. These 7 questions are listed in the Take Away Tool below.

YOUR TAKE AWAY TOOL:

“Your Life Purpose!”

Instructions: Put yourself in a relaxed place without interruptions. Consider each question carefully and write down the word, phase or event that comes to your mind.  Avoid intellectually or over thinking your responses. Find the common theme inside your answers. It could be an idea, a task, a job you need to do to experience fulfillment. It will link your seven answers and serve our species and so our universe, in some way.   The clearer, cleaner and simple these
five
to seven words are, the more likely you will retain and use them as a reference point for your future.

(A special thank you to Chris Walker for these insightful questions.)

Question 1: What was most missing from your childhood?

Question 2: What is your greatest void?

Question 3: What is your greatest value?

Question 4: If you could fix one thing in the world, what would it be?

Question 5: If you could give the world one gift, what would it be?

Question 6: If you were going to die in 5 seconds and were facing your dearest person, what information would you offer this person?

Question 7: What have you been looking for and hoping for all your life?

“We are evolving circles of awareness – we cannot be otherwise!”
Ralph Waldo Emerson – Philosopher, Author