Every human being has abundant potential. Everybody is blessed with some unique talents, which if discovered and nurtured can lift the person and the world around him to a higher level. However, very few achieve their full potential. In fact, most of us are perhaps operating at a tiny fraction of our full potential. This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges and opportunities we have as individuals, collectively as society, and at some level as mankind.
Life is a voyage of discovery. Nature expects us to progress from one level to the next. At each level we discover something new and powerful about ourselves and the world around us. This moves us towards awareness of our true calling.
The key to unlocking our potential is to have a positive and sustained purpose, a cause to which we can dedicate our lives. This purpose will be the positive force that creates focus and commitment and can inspire extraordinary effort. It is the magnet that will create means where none seem to exist and align the forces of nature in a mysterious yet powerful way.
M.K. Gandhi was a simple man, but he had a powerful purpose. This lifted him to the level of a Mahatma and ended up shaking the foundations of a mighty empire. Tulsidas was a village simpleton. His love of Rama helped him create the epic Ramcharitamanas and made him a saint. Joan of Arc was a young and frail peasant girl. However, her convictions helped rouse a beaten people to defeat a powerful enemy. She is revered to this day as one of the patron saints of France. This clearly shows that there is incredible power even in the meekest amongst us. A powerful purpose can unlock the amazing energies within us, not just uplifting our own selves but the world around us too.
So, how do we find a positive and sustained purpose?
In the daily pulls and pressures of life, this question of finding our life purpose often gets lost. You float through life driven by the forces around you. You do not seem to be in control of your own destiny. The purpose of one’s life seems like a difficult puzzle. It is sometimes difficult even to find the starting point from where you can begin unravelling this puzzle. However, it is necessary that we attempt to solve this puzzle of life. Having a powerful and sustained purpose in life is the key to not only achieving your full potential but also finding lasting happiness in life. It brings you the energy and focus that can unlock your potential, spark the leader within you, and lift you and your world to a different level.
Our purpose lies in the ‘sweet spot’, or the intersection of three forces –our passions, our unique talents and serving important and ethical needs. Finding your ‘sweet spot’ is a journey. Passions are the likely starting point, but they are not enough. They need to be coupled with talent. Finally, and most importantly, you need to channelize your passions into meeting some important needs or solving some important problems around you. Magic happens when you find the ‘sweet spot’ at the intersection of the three forces. You realize the powerful and sustained purpose of your life. However, there is no predictable formula for finding this ‘sweet spot’. It is a voyage, a patient journey, an exciting adventure.
Here are some thoughts on finding your ‘sweet spot’, your powerful, sustained purpose:
Passions are a gift. They are a source of energy. They light up your life and bring you joy and vitality. A life devoid of passions is not a full life. Passions are also the foundation of excellence. You are likely to give your best in what interests you and brings you happiness. Passions are like a luminous compass that lights up the way to your purpose. Follow your passions and you will have begun your journey of life well.
We often do not follow our passions because of our fears and our conditioning. As children we have few fears. As we grow up, we keep building fears inside ourselves and it becomes progressively more difficult to overcome them. Fears stop you from connecting with your true self. They limit your enjoyment of life. Let go of your fears and take more risks. The downside is less damaging and the upside a lot more gainful than you imagine. So, take that initial leap of courage and go after your passions. Be like a child, live your life freely!
The other big factor stopping us from following our passions are the external expectations of us. As we grow up, we start accumulating the expectations of family, friends and society. We often look at the world from another’s lens. We are conscious of what we are expected to do and how we are expected to behave. Success has a narrow and rigid definition. We often end up living our lives for others or as others expect of us. This is very limiting. You need to challenge this conditioning and live your own life. It is important to be conscious of one’s responsibilities towards others and to discharge them fully. However, in that process do not forget yourself. You need to find a balance between living your life and living it for others.
So, break free from your fears and conditioning and follow your passions. That is a happy and energizing way to begin the beautiful journey of life!
Your passions need to be aligned with serving an important need so that the sparks of inspiration become a bright and sustainable fire. Life is not to be lived in isolation. We live in an interdependent world. One of the fundamental objectives of life is to make a positive difference in the world around us. We need to translate that into our personal purpose. Moreover, this is not just about nobility of purpose. At a more practical level, any effort needs to create value for others for it to be sustainable. You create value not just by pursuing your own self-actualization but also by solving problems or serving the needs of others. Therefore, we need to figure out how our passions and/ or skills (which are internal) can be made relevant for the world around us.
How can our interests and our talents create value or solve problems for others? You need to link the internal with the external or, to put it in more commercial terms, you need to link supply with demand!
Solving other people’s problems and creating value is not easy. We are naturally wired to be self-oriented. Therefore, it is easier for us to have an understanding of our own needs, our aspirations, our strengths and our passions first. To create value, you need to have an outside-in orientation, where you have the empathy to understand the world around you. You need to go out of your cocoon and relate to others. That allows you to understand the needs of people around you. This is necessary to spark the thought process on how you can solve their problems and create value.
You also have to open yourself up to different experiences. Finding out where and how you can create value is not easy. You are unlikely to uncover significant opportunities if you look at the world through a narrow lens. Therefore, exploration and allowing oneself a range of experiences is very helpful. As you do this, you discover more about yourself and the world around you. This process can help uncover where and how you can add value.
Unique skills can also be a starting point to figure out opportunities for you to add value. You are likely to more easily find opportunities where you have unique skills.
However, building unique skills and competence is not easy. It requires hard work, patience and discipline. Even if you are blessed with natural talents, you have to practise hard and long to build distinctive competencies. There are no shortcuts. It takes time and you have to keep at it. The devil will test you in this process. You will face pain and feel like giving up. But you have to persevere, bite the pain and not give up. As you build the habit of not giving up, of not taking the easy course, you will discover hidden reserves of energy within you. You will find that you are able to go on for much longer. However, even upon reaching higher and higher levels, you cannot rest on your laurels. You have to keep practising; the aim at any point is to move to the next level. The fruits of your persistence will be sweet.
There is a synergistic relationship between your passions, serving important needs and your unique skills. Passion can lead to the building of distinctive skills. Passion and skills can point you to opportunities where you are most likely to create value. However, this flow is not necessarily sequential or linear. The three can connect with each other in different ways. What is important is that you are able to link them well. This can lead to a virtuous cycle where they can feed into each other, each becoming stronger in the process. The ‘sweet spot’ that emerges will be powerful and can create magic!
I want to leave you with three final thoughts on how to proceed on this magical journey of discovering your ‘sweet spot’ – the powerful purpose of your life:
Finding the powerful purpose of life is one of the most profound quests of mankind. It is a quest that you must attempt. If you can find your ‘sweet spot’, it will lift you and the world around you to a higher level. Mahatma Gandhi put it beautifully when he said, ‘Find purpose, the means will follow.’ However, this process of finding your purpose is a patient journey. Take it as an exciting adventure and do embark on it!
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