back a boundary-line and adding to one’s liberty.”
Henri Frederic Amiel
That last paragraph may have intensified a sense of doubt in your mind. Is it REALLY true that “the rest will fall into place beautifully” if you just keep moving forward?
Yes - and sometimes no. It’s important to understand that you may face a few challenges while you’re working toward your life purpose. Sometimes these challenges will come from inside your own mind (negative thoughts, doubts, and the like), and sometimes they might be external obstacles you didn’t expect to encounter.
This chapter is going to cover some of the most likely challenges you may face, and give you tools and strategies for overcoming them.
Fear of Change
This is a common challenge for people who are firmly entrenched in their current life circumstances. If you’re in your forties, fifties or older, you may think it’s too late to conceive a new life purpose now.
Perhaps you’ve already spent years building a stable career and you don’t want to “rock the boat” now because you stand to lose so much.
Even if you’re younger but have a lot of responsibilities or demands on your time, it may seem monumentally difficult to change directions now without creating a whole lot of havoc in your life.
No matter your specific situation, it’s never too late to make changes that will contribute greater value to the world and create greater meaning and fulfillment in your own life.
Of course, you don’t have to make a giant leap from one lifestyle to another, either. Start small if bigger changes overwhelm you. Spending even an hour a day on meaningful activities can create greater satisfaction that will seep into other areas of your life too.
Maybe later you’ll decide to not only “rock the boat,” but jump out of it entirely and swim to another shore! Or maybe not.
The only thing you have to consider is what you want and what you’re willing to do to have it. Small changes or big changes, it’s completely up to you.
Lack of Belief
As mentioned previously, you may not really believe that there is anything special about you. You may not believe that you have the ability to create a meaningful life. Maybe you still don’t believe that you have a purpose or can choose one, even after reading this book.
Whatever lack of belief you may have right now, it’s okay. Understand that inner conviction usually comes from doing, not necessarily from trying to convince yourself.
If you have completed the worksheets on the things that are important to you, you are passionate about, interested in and naturally good at; you’ve already got a sense of the right direction to move in.
If you also took the time to identify some clear steps that will move you toward what you want, there is nothing left to do but start taking those steps!
As you do, you’ll begin to believe little by little. With every success, every challenge you stare down, every obstacle you overcome, you’ll begin to believe in yourself and the importance of what you’re doing. Eventually, momentum will take over and the process will become a lot easier.
If You Do What You Love, Will the Money Follow?
This challenge applies to you especially if you intend to turn your life purpose into a career. One of the biggest obstacles people in this situation face is uncertainty about how to transition from their current career to a new one that relates to their life purpose.
For example, you might have a stable job with a reliable income right now, but don’t have the financial freedom to quit and do something that may or may not be financially lucrative.
The concept of “do what you love and the money will follow” is often touted by self-development experts, but is it realistic? I love to sit on my behind and watch movies - but I can’t see that bringing in a paycheck any time soon!
Unfortunately, it’s usually not as simple as “doing what you love” and then watching the money roll in.
However, there is a grain of wisdom in this concept, with one notable difference: if you can find a way to serve others while doing something you love, you can make money from it at the same time.
If you really want to turn your life purpose into a paying career, you need to find a way to monetize your passions. Depending on your personal situation, this may be something you can do right away and quit your existing job, or it might be something you’ll have to build up to gradually. It will be different for everyone, so take some time to determine what will work best for you.
Charging Money for Your “Gifts”
While we’re on the subject of money, there is another challenge that may create conflict within you, and that is the question of ethics when considering whether to charge money for your contributions to the world.
Many people believe that gifts and talents (usually referred to as “God-given”) should be shared freely with others and never exchanged for monetary gain. While I can appreciate this charitable attitude, I really have to disagree.
Modern day society is driven by money, whether we like it or not. As lofty as it would be to donate all of your time and attention to others for free, you are really limiting yourself if you do that, which means you are limiting the amount of people you can help.
If you don’t charge money for your talents and services, you will have to earn an income some other way unless you happen to be financially independent. In most cases, that means you’ll have less time and energy to devote to your true purpose.
Personally, I see nothing wrong with charging money for gifts and talents, whether they are those of a plumber, doctor, artist, spiritual advisor or anyone else. If you are providing something of value to others, you deserve to be compensated for that contribution unless you choose to offer it for free.
Not everyone will agree with this, of course. Don’t be surprised if you encounter a few stray “freebie seekers” with an over-inflated sense of entitlement, but don’t let them worry you either. If you are truly providing something of value, something that really helps people, you are justified in expecting to be paid for your time, energy and expertise.
That doesn’t mean you should focus heavily on the money, either. If you approach your life purpose with an attitude of “What’s in it for me?” you could set yourself up for problems.
What kind of problems, you ask? For one, focusing only on what you stand to gain from your activities reduces the intensity of passion and joy you’ll put into your purpose. You’ll be so busy watching for the monetary returns that you won’t be giving from a heart full of generosity and love.
Another problem that could arise is that you will gage your success by the amount of money you bring in, rather than the number of lives you are able to touch. In fact, you’ll probably notice that the financial rewards grow naturally in proportion with the growth of your purpose. The more people you help, the more easily the money will come.
Finally, doing anything “just for the money” usually reduces your enjoyment of it. You can enjoy financial rewards, of course, but keep in mind that there are much more satisfying rewards to be had if you open to them.
Overall, your main objective should be to serve – while also being open to the natural flow of abundance that comes along with success.
Of course, if you have no desire to earn an income from your purpose then this situation wouldn’t apply to you; you would simply work at it as time and energy allows and call it good. There is nothing wrong with this approach either; it just depends on what your objective is.
Slow Progress
As you begin moving toward your life purpose, you may feel like you are moving through molasses. Maybe you’ll bump into plenty of obstacles that will slow your progress, money might trickle in when you desperately need a waterfall, or you might simply seem to be moving at a snail’s pace for no apparent reason.
When this happens, it’s very easy to convince yourself that you must have been crazy to try living your purpose. If it was meant to be, wouldn’t it be easier?
read next page
Comments :
Post a Comment