Bite-Sized Teaching Series: Finding Your Purpose is Hard Until You Understand This

Overview

This episode explores the often misunderstood journey of finding one's purpose. It challenges traditional approaches, emphasizing experimentation, presence, and adaptability over rigid mental models. Through personal anecdotes and practical advice, the episode provides actionable steps to align with one's purpose in the moment.

Notable Quotes

- What if I just did whatever was presented to me and said yes to the things I enjoyed and no to the things I don’t enjoy? – On discovering purpose through experimentation.

- Purpose isn’t something you chase; it’s something you follow in the moment. – On shifting perspective from seeking to living purpose.

- The idea I had in my head for what I wanted is never as good as what I get. – On the unexpected rewards of aligning with purpose.

🧭 Rethinking the Search for Purpose

- Many people approach purpose as a destination or a problem to solve, which often leads to frustration and stagnation.

- Purpose is not something you can predict or plan for; it unfolds through action and experimentation.

- The speaker compares searching for purpose to trying to identify a champion swimmer among 5-year-olds without seeing them in the water—action and experience are essential.

🛠️ The Power of Experimentation

- Instead of overthinking, engage in diverse activities and observe what resonates.

- The speaker shares a personal story of leaving investment banking to pursue art, only to find similar dissatisfaction. This realization led to a new approach: saying yes to opportunities that felt exciting and no to those that didn’t.

- Experimentation helps refine what truly aligns with your values and interests over time.

🌱 Purpose as an Evolving Journey

- Purpose is not static; it evolves as you grow and change.

- The speaker recounts how their purpose shifted from venture capital and nonprofit work to coaching, driven by a desire to contribute to society in meaningful ways.

- Each phase of life builds on the previous one, creating a cumulative sense of fulfillment.

🕰️ Living Purpose in the Present Moment

- Purpose is not a future goal but something accessible in the present.

- A practical exercise: Set an alarm three times a day and ask, “What would living my purpose look like right now?” This practice helps cultivate awareness and alignment.

- By focusing on the present, you can follow purpose step by step, like navigating a path in the woods without a map.

🚫 The Pitfall of Overattachment

- Overanalyzing or obsessing about finding purpose can push it further away, much like being overly eager in a romantic pursuit.

- Purpose is your birthright—it’s already within you. The key is to follow it naturally rather than force it.

- Trusting the process and letting go of rigid expectations allows purpose to reveal itself organically.