If you believe that your profession, pursuit or passion by itself matters most for your career or personal life, then you are most probably mistaken! What really matters is the purpose, for which you are doing it!!
I have come across several employees in the organizations I have served, who after few years’ of experience, want to quit and pursue full time MBA degree course. When I used to enquire why they want to do that, when they are developing well in their current profile, some would reply that they see MBA degree as a vehicle for their personal growth and others wanted to do it because their college mates have done it. If I now look at those MBA degree holders, more than 95% of them have not grown better than ones, who opted to stay put; rather, some of them are lagging behind their peers. Only less than 5% grew well; but was it because of MBA degree or competence and qualities they are already possessed? One thing, I have found strikingly similar with said 95% employees – they did not have a clear purpose or vision!
In corporate, private or public lives, what is missing is the coaching and correct emphasis on how to set the purpose or vision of your life and then align everything to that. Choosing a profession or passion without purpose is like a journey without destination. You are then destined to come on crossroads, where you would face confusion or crisis.
So, a clear purpose for your pursuit is of paramount importance; at the same time, you also need to understand its larger implications.
Understand larger impact of what you do!
Whether you chose to do something or not, you are bound to create a larger impact, which you seldom imagine. Remember, you are not alone in world; you exist, because of existence of others and everything around you. You influence what is around you and what is surrounding you influences you. Look at some real life examples below:
- Your happiness and health make your friends happy, when they see you! Your foes may become unhappy; but then, that is also an influence you have triggered!
- If you smile when you see a stranger, may be that it would cheer her up or at least it would strike good impression on her!
- If you render help to a needy happily, you are part of that section in society who likes to help others. May be tomorrow, you would need help and this way, there would be many hands willing to help you!
- If you become an engineer, doctor or any other professional, you are increasing potential of your community and country to improve!
- If you are able to help your company to reduce cost or increase earning, however small, you are contributing to boost GDP of your country and government’s ability to upgrade public life!
Whatever big or small, private or public work you do, you are serving a purpose, much larger than you normally imagine. If you become conscious of the same, it would enhance your self-confidence; make you feel more important; you would feel more responsible and accountable; it would energize you; change and charge you up. One thing is absolutely certain that it bring significant paradigm shift and you would start to see life in a new light!
So, what is behind such dramatic change? Erstwhile, you were seeing things up to you; but now through same things, you are looking beyond you!
Why purpose of your pursuit should be “beyond you”!
Most of us consider it fair to set our purpose “up to us”. Fair enough; but then we do face the following:
- By setting limit up to us, we limit the height we can scale.
It takes us through cycles of good and bad times. It is more probable that duration of difficult phases would be longer than decent ones! - It encourages us to become egotist and emotional.
- It would not allow us to beat our biases.
- We would tend to be self-serving and encounter more conflicts.
On other hand, some in the name of benevolence, sacrifice or service, dedicate their lives only for others! God men, fundamentalists or like, whose purpose is only to impact others, fall in this category. It looks very holy; but look at how hollow and harmful is that:
- They believe they have reached end of their beliefs; there is no need to change or improve!
- They are not accountable for their acts; what they do is sacrosanct and above any sin!
- They promote blind faith and followings.
- Their real life is a closely guarded secret!
So, there is fatal flaw in making your purpose purely for others!
Only when you make your purpose “beyond you” or “beyond I”, it includes you as well as others. It makes a magical difference!
How to a set purpose “Beyond you”
- Evaluate and understand larger implications of whatever you do, as mentioned above. Go as far as you can to see these implications. If need be, take help of your mentor or discuss it with your well-wisher/s.
- Select a goal, as per your dream, desire or competence.
- Imagine and investigate larger impact and implication of this goal on you and those around you. As examples – if you are an engineer, you are able to develop X no. or Y % of your team members, so that they become capable of heading a business unit or whole organization. Now, if such could be impact of your goal, then you would be the first to become capable to perform the said function and most likely get an opportunity to do so! If you are an artist, your work could create awe in at least 51% of people, who would witness it. It would mean that your work has to be par excellence to bring that kind of effect!!
- Then, chose that larger impact or effect as the purpose of your life or career.
It is that purpose “beyond you”, which becomes your vision and that vision is what makes you visionary. It is bound to bring par excellence in various facets of your life!
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