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One of the most common self-help, personal development or growth topics centers around living your dreams, following your passion or discovering your purpose. This self-awareness and subsequent action is at the core of much wisdom on how to achieve happiness. However, almost as common as well meaning authors who have sage advice are those of us who have no idea what exactly what is our dream, purpose or passion.
There are a multitude of books that will help you figure out what the best job is for you or tell you how to pursue a dream or a passion but far fewer that guide you through the process of pinpointing a purpose. Common suggestions include asking what you would do even if you weren't paid or knew you wouldn't fail. But those questions get at work and livelihood.
Studies have found that as adults our interest tend to bear out a remarkable similarity to what we were like when we were seven years old so another bit of advice is to ask those who were around what captured your curiosity as a kid. I asked my mother and she tells me that I was interested in everything exemplified by the summer I spent attempting to read the encyclopedia. No luck there!
What I've noticed is that when someone speaks about their purpose, even if they don't know that it is at least one of their life missions or don't care to pursue it, the little hairs stand up on my arms. Reading and hearing the stories of those who have discovered their dreams is not only a joy but practical and helpful in my seemingly never-ending quest to find mine. Perhaps you'll find some of their stories worth reading, too.
Sarah Dopp is someone whom I've been blessed to have as a friend and a teacher. She has helped me have greater understanding of people in my life and, as a result, I am a better and more empathetic human. Recently she told me that she had been invited to speak to a college group. When Sarah described to me the talk she would be giving (including reading her poetry) about gender, sexuality, identity, understanding and acceptance I had a goose bump moment because it sounded to me like she was describing her purpose in life, to share her journey and story. Sarah is a web developer (you've been touched by her work here at BlogHer) and though she's very talented in that arena, I hope more groups take her up on her offer to lure her out to a microphone somewhere.
Sarah Dopp discusses Genderfork.com and how she started the website
James M. Lynch is a life coach who describes a similar moment with a client:
[O]ne of my clients is a financial advisor. In one session she sat forward and powerfully said, "Do you know what I really want? I want women to understand their financial standing on their own, not as a 'subset' of their husband. I want women to be financially empowered."
I sat back and took a deep breath and for a moment we sat in silence as the power of her statement echoed between us. I know I've gotten to a passion statement when I feel the little hairs on my arm stand up or just get plain old goose bumps. Once we've reached a passion statement the rest of the work is how to have that vision manifest in the world.
Lynch describes in his post a process for uncovering your passion statement:
Let's try this on together: Remove all obstacles from your life or occupation (choose either one or even an avocation; any area of your life that could use a little more "sizzle"). Take away considerations of money, time, resources and obligations. If all of those obstacles were removed, as with a "magic wand" and you could create the result of your heart's desire, what would show up in the world?
Pam Slim is a life coach, blogger and author who discovered her dream and purpose when she had a physical reaction to a lightbulb moment:
Holding him in my arms before a corporate client call one day, I had a gigantic charge of energy through my body as I realized that he picked up everything that I was feeling. At that moment, I made the decision to stop the corporate consulting side of my business and focus
