Find your purpose – win the lottery
I was recently at a dinner party with close friends – it was one with lots of good laughs, food and great company. We stepped into a classic conversation that I’m sure you have been part of - “What would you do if you won the lottery?”
Most people answered as you would expect – quit tomorrow and head out on vacation. Wouldn’t it be great though if everyone was so engaged in what they were doing to say “Yeah, I would take all my friends on a vacation and then come right back to doing more of this work where I feel fulfilled.”
We are also hearing from lots of clients about finding their purpose in pursuit of living their most fulfilled life. In a recent strategy development workshop our participants painted their inspiration on black rocks to capture their team purpose. It felt as good as winning the lottery at the realization of how important their work was.
Here is a quick way to help find the things that fulfills you.
Find your proud stories
Your proudest moments in your personal life or at work hold valuable clues about what’s important to you – they are the code to understanding your purpose. A great exercise is to tell a few (3-5 is enough) stories to a trusted friend of proud moments that felt like they mattered – the human difference.
Recognize your contribution
Our proudest moments happen when we are involved. Something you did in the moment was making a human difference. Look for your pattern of contribution and make a short list. This is the essence of who you are.
Reflect on the impact for others
The difference between winning the lottery and finding your purpose is in the service of others. Winning the lottery would be helpful but likely not fulfilling. All of us want to be valued – it’s a trait we all share. We are fulfilled when we contribute something that has impact and valued by other people so they can go on to do or be something better. Think big here. We sometimes take for granted that we are helping others achieve their full potential, heightening their esteem or growing their sense of belonging. It might be related to increasing safety or providing access to our basic physiological needs for health, food or sleep.
Write it somewhere and tell someone
If it feels like you touched someone you’re on the right track. Writing it out in a way that captures it helps to make it live. In our workshop, painting it on a rock turned it from an idea into a reference so the team could share the meaningful realization they had won the lottery.