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Know yourself to live your life on purpose

By Hillary Hutchinson / October 12, 2009

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome
—Excerpted from “Love After Love” by Derek Walcott

How Well Do You Really Know Yourself?

In today’s crazy busy world, taking time to quiet your mind and assess your life and work is harder than ever. To live your life they way you truly want to requires reflection followed by consistent, focused action.

In times of economic uncertainty, it may be surprising to discover that the best career plan is to understand your own life’s purpose. Purpose is defined as “the reason that something exists, or for which it has been done or made.” If you examine your passions in life, you will uncover your own sense of why you are here. It isn’t necessary to believe in a higher power to believe you have a place and a purpose in the universe.

Ask yourself what really drives you: is it money? Is it a quest for knowledge? Is it love—for a partner, a parent, a child, a friend? Sometimes the answers to these questions are surprising: what money can do is usually secondary to any joy in actually making it. The quest for knowledge and information may be secondary to desiring wisdom for its implementation. Love may mean creating a better world by teaching the next generation.

To determine if you are currently living your life on purpose, ask yourselves these questions:
• Do I work at what I love to do?
• Are my daily choices are driven by a strong sense of purpose and direction?
• Am I wholehearted and authentic in my actions and my words?
• Is there clear alignment between what I say my priorities are and how I spend my time?
• Do I invest time in making a difference to others in the world?
• Do I put my whole self into all that I do?
• Do I know what I want to be my legacy?

These are questions to ask yourself at least once a year, just like getting a routine physical check-up.

Don’t be a stranger to yourself! Live your life on purpose.