by Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie
Determining what our purpose is in life can be one of the hardest questions that we as humans are compelled to answer. It is the guiding light we seek to help us create value that is meaningful to us far beyond the remuneration, adoration and adulation we may enjoy from our worldly pursuits. Our purpose is also where we are challenged the most.
In the pursuit of our purpose, we inevitably cross paths with our darkest fear and our biggest messes. The pursuit of purpose invites us to move past our limiting beliefs and it is powerless to so without bringing us face-to-face with those same limiting beliefs. In this confrontation, we choose much more than what we will do. In the pursuit of our purpose, this confrontation brings us to the choice of who we will BE, who we must Become.
This act of choice is the act of exercising your superpower and stepping into a bond of trust with yourself. I share more about choice here.
In this post, I shared some questions you could explore to come to see where your purpose may be calling you toward.
If you've considered these, the next, vital step to manifesting your purpose is to examine your responses to these question and to see the lists you've created for yourself to see the common themes that arise.
Maybe, it is the contribution that keeps coming up, or an effect to seek or give love, or helping your parents cope with old age. Maybe it’s about beautifying the world with your creativity. Maybe it’s about helping people find their own courage and strength. Or maybe it’s about creating tools and resources and processes with which people can improve their quality of life. Whatever it is, try to identify the central theme of the things you love to do, and try to put it in a short and precise statement.
This will be your 'Purpose Statement' or your ‘Mission Statement’. It may even be a quote by a famous person, or a philosophy that has influenced you. Whatever it is, it acts as an anchor to keep you tethered to what is essential to you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Life gets demanding and life gets distracting and tends distance you from your purpose if you are not deliberate about recreating your life around it. uThis is a start. This is the beginning of making it tangible to yourself first. This is about giving your subconscious minds the beginnings of the clarity that will emerge with increasing precision over time. The statement itself will evolve with time. But the anchor will remain ever present and the connection with its essence and your soul will nurture its presence in your life if you make space for this to happen.
Mine is to support Ambitious Women to reconnect with themselves so that they can reconnect with their dreams and their soul-force so that they impact themselves and their worlds in a way that fits for them. How I do this is varied. But, with the passage of time, I can see how practically everything I do, personally and professionally is connected to this somehow. What is your underlying theme? Create yours, through a statement, a quotation or any other representation that works for you. With this clear reference point, you'll be pleasantly surprised to see the opportunities around you to make your purpose part of your everyday lived life.
Safiyyah Boolay-Jappie is a life coach, based in South Africa. She helps high achieving, ambitious women to create impactful careers without sacrificing their well-being, themselves, their relationships, and quality of life. She helps women to beat burnout and to thrive. Having worked in the corporate world for 20 years, most of these in complex leadership roles whilst raising two children, she understands the demands being juggled by professional women, both in their professional and personal lives. Today, she wants to share those learnings with other women through her personal coaching and training.
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