Purposeful Living: Turning Hope into Purpose

Happy Almost New Year!

What specific hope do you possess for 2023?

Those living in their purpose know that the past unlocks wisdom to find true hope for the future.

As you look back on your 2022, there are seeds of hope that, if nurtured, can grow into great fruit. When you identify and care for those seeds, they will harvest abundant life of purpose. On the other hand, if those seeds are not found and nurtured, they will spoil and never grow.

Hope is so important for you to live a purpose-full life – at home and at work! I was reminded of that recently as I sat with a dear friend, Samantha, who was going through the Purpose Promise process. She was telling me about her career and how she felt stuck. She lacked hope that she could translate her 20+ years of accounting to a new field. She hated her work and was miserable. She dreamed of a new role to use her passions, but she lacked hope.

This is familiar territory in our guidance through the Purpose Promise. 65% of Americans are emotionally detached from their work. Most have little hope that they can find work they love, so they stay paralyzed in their lackluster job. It does not have to be this way. There is a recipe to unlock work you love, and one of the main ingredients in that recipe is hope.

Most people have a misguided view of what hope is and what hope is not. Possessing hope is achievable, but often elusive because most do not have a recipe to possess it. Ironically, the process of finding hope for the future does not manifest itself by focusing on the future. Instead, the output of hope in your future starts with a focus on the past. The seeds of wisdom that reside in the awareness of your past, bring forth the practical hope to plan for your purpose.

Over the next few months, we will be bringing experiential ways to support you in unearthing seeds of hope and cultivating the fertile soil in your life that is necessary for sustained growth.

So, if you seek a clearer path to purpose in 2023, take 5 minutes and contemplate the questions below.

As you look back at 2022:

• Who did I positively impact this year?
  • What talents did I use to impact them?
  • What amount of time did I need to impact them?
• Who impacted me this year?
  • Reach out and let them know how they changed your life for the better!
• What habits did I cultivate that helped me feel rested this year?
  • How can I prioritize those habits in 2023?
• What habits kept me from being my best self in 2022?
  • How can I set a new course to minimize those habits in 2023?
• When did I feel most alive in 2022?
  • What can be learned from these experiences that I should not ignore?

Now, look at your answers and commit to just five things necessary to focus on to make 2023 the best year of your life.

There you go! You now have a simple and actionable plan as a starting point to finding your full definition of purpose.

The clarity revealed from these questions contains seeds of hope. These seeds are filled with the abundant life that is uniquely designed for you. If you want to go deeper to craft a more complete 2023 plan, we have many resources to help you do so. Schedule a quick call with one of our Purpose Guides to explore which option might be right for you.

All the best to you in 2023! We hope your life will be transformed as you contemplate your past, plan for your purpose, and help others develop a richer life of meaning!