Our purpose must be deep and supple in order for us to stay rooted and readily adapt to the changing seasons of life. We must have the ability to flex and bend without breaking.
Photo by Philipp Lublasser on Unsplash
Most days we do not give our purpose a second thought. We simply put our head down and keep working – doing whatever is next.
And when we do consider purpose, we usually think of it in terms of a particular job or career.
The question
What is your purpose?
is often interpreted as
What job do you want?
Certainly, it’s good to think through the type of job we desire and how we can develop in our careers.
At the same time, do not confuse your job with your purpose.
How we earn a living and how we fulfill our purpose might be two very different things.
Our purpose (and identity) becomes brittle when it is attached to a particular job.
Who am I when I am let go, my business fails, or even when I retire?
We set ourselves up for an identity crisis when our purpose is equated with a certain job or medium of expression.
Our jobs are simply the means by which we express our purpose. But our purpose is much bigger than any one particular job.
Deep purpose is supple. It has the ability to flex – to be expressed across many different jobs and in every season of life.
This gives us tremendous freedom and helps us to stay rooted.
We can change jobs, move cities, raise children, and even face death and our true purpose remains the same.
Take the time to discover your purpose.
A supple purpose gives you a resilient strength to serve your life and relationships well.
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