How often have you pursued a dream and then stopped after the first phase? Your motivation waned, and you’re tired of putting out work for little in return. After a while, you start again and run into a wall with no immediate way around or over it. Before you give up, there is one question you should explore: Have you aligned your dream with your life purpose?
Difference between a dream and a life purpose
First, let’s look at the difference between a dream and a life purpose. A dream is that future state you see for yourself, for example, a millionaire author or an adventurer. A life purpose gives meaning to dreams and is in service to others. So you may wish to become a millionaire author and you have a life purpose to help women who are stuck in lives that do not serve them.
If you decide to write novels to bring you closer to your dream of being a millionaire author and you totally disregard your life purpose, then all the activities you need to do for your dream are not investments in service of your life purpose. Most likely your motivation will flag and the activities become dreary and tedious work.
The best thing you can do for your motivation is to align your dream and your life purpose.
What is your life purpose?
If you don’t have a life purpose as yet, ask yourself, who am I here to serve? If you are given the opportunity to help a person today or tomorrow, who would that person be? Then ask why would you want to help them. Finally, how would you help them?
Finding a life purpose could be hard work but do it because it helps make your dreams easier to achieve.
Once you have an idea of your life purpose, align your dreams with your life purpose. Remember, you can change your dream and life purpose.
Align your dreams and life purpose
Let’s return to our millionaire author dream and life purpose to help women who are stuck with their lives. Here are three ways to align the dream and the life purpose. You can still write novels and use a percentage of your profits to set up a coaching business to help women or you donate the proceeds to women in a shelter. Or, you decide to write nonfiction books to help women in different aspects of their stuck lives. You can set up an author’s blog to guide women who want are stuck into trying their hand at writing too. These are only some of many ways.
Take one step closer to greater alignment
Going after your dreams will take work. Your motivation will wax and wane but one way to keep your motivation going is to ensure your dreams align with your lif purpose.
Get started by making a list of all possible ways you could align your dream to your life purpose. You do not have to decide on one way to align your dream and life purpose. Instead, you may find multiple ways for the alignment. This is great because you will always find a way to take action on your dream as it will be in service to your life purpose.
Read this list every day while you are working on your dream and whenever your motivation wanes. Your life purpose will inspire you while your current dreams will invigorate you to keep your momentum going.
