No matter who you are – a home-maker, or an influencer; an editor or a model; the Prime minister of the country or a sportsman – I believe every one of us ask ourselves time and again – is this where I want to be? Am I living my purpose? Is this the way life is supposed to pan out? I know I ask myself this in regular intervals, even though I believe the answer to all of the above is yes. I still need that validation.
Life isn’t a 100-mark exam where we get to know where we went right and wrong and even get a final total and know how we have ranked against many others. It’s pretty much an individual race, journey and destination. Filled with choices and life defining decisions. To navigate through this can get sometimes overwhelming and often confusing. Fortunately, I have developed a few compasses that have really been helping me… maybe they can align you too.
The first, is to ask myself this question every few months – one that my guru pertinently asks all of us often. If I had all the money of the world would I be doing what I am doing? Warning: Ask yourself this question only if you really have the courage to find answers that could potentially change your life forever. If you are not ready for the Truth, best to not churn yourself with this. Because, churn it will. It will make you wonder why you are doing what you are doing… and sometimes gift you with a reiteration, other times a transition.
The second, I constantly ask myself this one and it has helped me push the envelope in areas I wouldn’t otherwise dare. If I wasn’t afraid, what would I do. Sometimes the answer seems as basic (and yet transforming) as I would apologize to him or her and sometimes it zaps me and tells me to go address thousands of students on life skills. (I have done both and can say – when you do what you are afraid of, it shifts something in your DNA.)
The third, is peace. I love this phrase: Peace that passeth all understanding. To describe a feeling within you that is so, well, complete. Nothing to be added, nothing to be subtracted. Everything feels whole and you feel like you are right in the centre of it all, experiencing and emitting a peace that you could only dream of. This kind of peace in the work zone is only possible when you are aligned to your Highest purpose – when you truly love what you do and you know you are in the right place, at the right time. If you feel a lot more of the opposite, you know what it is trying to tell you too!
The last, but definitely not the least is a simple one but a great litmus. How do you feel about your Monday mornings? For me, there is a spring in my step. I get excited from Sunday night itself. I know there’s so many wonderful things coming up and a team I wait to meet. This shows me that Thank God It’s Friday is as true as Thank God It’s Monday for me and acts as a compass to tell me I still love what I do…
Life seems too short to be wasted doing what you don’t really want to do. Being what you don’t really want to be. Easier said than done, I know, but with courage and some practical planning, each of us could be doing exactly what we love. There must be a reason you were born as you – and if you don’t discover the reason in this lifetime, what is the point of it all? Sit in a quiet space with a paper and a pen, ask yourself the four questions above, and I wish you experience answers that change your life for the better. And the best. And more!