I hear this all the time, people wanting to find their purpose, that there has to be more to life than what they’ve been living. I used to struggle with this feeling of being stuck and dissatisfied with life. I felt I needed to do something or be somebody to be fulfilled. On the surface I was doing better than ever, I had enough income to live comfortably and not worry, I had great friendships, enjoyed my job and the people I worked with. This was everything that I thought would make me feel complete, yet when I finally had everything in place, I still felt like something was missing. I wanted purpose.I spent about 6 years, trying everything to find my purpose, I thought I’d find it in another person or in objects, like a better house, nicer car, vacations, intimate relationships and such.
I would become happy and get excited for a moment when these things came into my life, then those feelings would wear off and I was left searching again. I was not even aware of my behavior, I just didn’t know any other way. Then I kind of hit a bottom, I had enough, I was never satisfied, and I wanted real change. So, I started reading a lot of self-help books, went to therapy, got a life coach and I dove deeper into my spiritual practice. The books and authors that helped most were:
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle&A Course in Miracles Made Easy: Mastering the Journey from Fear to Love by Alan CohenIn the search for my life’s purpose I discovered that yes, it was true, that everything you need is within yourself. I had heard this before, I’d been told, read it multiple times and thought I understood it, but I didn’t fully understand until I failed many times looking outside of myself. I just needed to struggle a bit longer until it sank in. I discovered my purpose in life is to be true to myself and to heal myself. When that started happening everything outside started to fall in place. I was able to identify what my outer purpose was, I didn’t have to search for it, it just came to me. I started saying yes to what I wanted and no to what I didn’t want.So, look at what’s going on inside of you, if there are negative emotions, that is your inner being trying to let you know to pay attention and do something different that will bring positive emotions. This will help clear the way for your purpose to come through and for you to feel fulfilled and whole.
By Spiritual Life Coach Shannon