Last week I defined some key aspects of purpose. Now that we have a better idea of what it is and isn’t, it’s time for a gut check. It’s time to ask yourself if you’re actually moving in line with yours. Are you on the right path or do you need to switch lanes and gears? That can be a tough, uncomfortable question with an unknown answer. But have no fear, GladiatHers.com is here to walk you through that maze that answers that very question. Here are seven signs that you might not be walking in your purpose.
Dissatisfaction
The thing about living out your purpose is that it brings a level of personal satisfaction. This satisfaction supersedes a paycheck (or lack thereof) and all of the dull moments sometimes associated with walking in your purpose. It brings a satisfaction that exists despite the challenges you have to overcome to find success. If what you’re doing provides you absolutely no personal satisfaction that’s a good sign that you might not have discovered your purpose.
Discomfort
Make no mistake about it, discovering and walking in your purpose will require you to endure some uncomfortable and difficult times. The discomfort that I’m referring to here is more of a discomfort at your core. Do you feel the need to move on to something new? Do you have a nagging feeling that you’re wasting your talent? Are you constantly feeling that there’s more to life? If you have that level of discomfort with your current situation, you might not be living out your purpose.
Burnout
Living in your purpose takes work! After all, nothing worth having comes easy, right? But when you’re walking in your purpose you find a different kind of energy; an almost supernatural vigor. That vigor comes from within and seems to abound when you’re doing your life’s work. That’s not to say that the work doesn’t get tiresome, but with the right amount of rest and support, it shouldn’t burn you out. If you are completely deplete of energy, completely lethargic, that might be a sign that you have not found your purpose, your internal source of vigor.
Lack of Passion
A good sign that you’ve found your purpose, your calling, is that you are passionate about what you’re doing. Again, you love what you’re doing so much that compensation is secondary. If you don’t feel that way about anything that you’re doing, you might need to keep searching for that thing that you are passionate about.
Lack of Focus
Another thing about purpose is that the passion I mentioned draws you into the work, making it fairly easy to focus on it. That doesn’t mean that walking in your purpose suddenly produces a distraction free life; far from it. Potential distractions can often increase once you discover and try to fulfill your purpose. But once you’re able to limit or quiet those distractions, your purpose has your attention. If nothing (none of the work you do) in your life can maintain your focus or even motivate you to quiet distractions, you should question whether you’re manifesting your purpose.
Lack of Fruit
Remember how I mentioned earlier that your purpose is complete with a passion for something that you would do for free? Yeah, well (lucky for us) when you’re engaged in your purpose you usually don’t have work for free because your purpose produces fruit. By fruit I mean results. Sometimes that fruit is in the form of money, the success of others or personal accomplishments (for example). If you’re toiling away in something and it produces no fruit, keep looking.
Lack of Alignment
One of the beautiful things about being one with your purpose is that you effortlessly become aligned with the people, places and things you need to find success and fulfill your calling. Doors seem to magically open and key relationships spring from seemingly nowhere. Are you hitting brick walls at every turn? Are none of the people in your circle equipped to help you and vice versa? Are you met with constant friction? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you might not be aligned with your purpose.
Take a close, careful and honest look at your life. If dissatisfaction; discomfort; burnout; lack of passion; lack of focus, fruit and alignment are a part of your life you might need to make some adjustments. Living a purpose-filled life brings satisfaction, ease, energy, passion, focus, results and alignment. Remember you may not find your purpose at your job, but wherever you find it, it will bring all of those things. If you need help living a more purpose-filled life, sign up for our newsletter, we’re helping people do just that.
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