đź‘‹Â Hey there,Â
After the pandemic reality check, many people are reflecting on their life so far; and how they want to live from now on.
As an optimist, I find that beautiful and see it as the seeds for a better world. In fact, discovering that my purpose is helping people to grow had a big impact on my life on many levels. And it has a multiplication effect — people you help today will help others in the future.
There is a catch, though. All this talk about purpose sometimes brings anxiety to people who didn’t find theirs. It doesn’t have to be like that. Sometimes, you just need to take the first step, like everything in life.
In that context, I love how Dan Pink repurposed his perspective on purpose in his book Drive. He now distinguishes between two types of purpose:
- Purpose with a capital P — solving the climate crisis, ending world poverty, etc.
- purpose with a lowercase p — small gestures to help other people in their daily lives; what we can call random acts of kindness.
The first is about making a difference, and the second is about making a contribution.
I would add that making a contribution can be an excellent start to uncovering your purpose. And if it doesn’t work, at least you helped someone along the way.
- When pursuing a passion or a hobby starts to become bigger and gain momentum like a snowball rolling down a hill.
- A major life event like losing your job and having to reinvent yourself.
- Observing someone with purpose and using inspiration from that in your own life.
The big lesson here is to not overthink about your purpose; instead, expose yourself to diversity and experimentation and be aware of yourself and others.
To wrap up, and playing the contrarian role now, it’s important to notice that the world is full of happy people who never thought about purpose.