What if the Way You Look at Your Purpose is All Wrong?

Your purpose might be simpler – and sweeter – than you think

Every now and then, perhaps every couple of months or so, I post a prompt to Instagram stories that invites the audience there to ask me anything. Sometimes the questions are about my life off-grid, slow living, or other topics close to my heart.

More often than not, it is people asking for advice about their own situations.

And can you guess the most common topic within that?

Life Purpose.

Without a doubt, people have themselves under a lot of pressure to find their life’s purpose. Almost always, that quest also seems to be associated with their life’s work and finding the right direction.

There’s actually very little guarantee that going for a life goal and reaching it means you’ve found your life’s purpose, just because you finally saw that goal realised.

This isn’t to say that we shouldn’t go for our dreams.

We absolutely should.

How else can we know the potential of who we can become?

Going for our dreams stretches us ridiculously. We have to face our deepest, primal fears and heal them. No one sees their dream realised without tests from life that, of course, happen for us not to us.

But, does going for a particular dream have to be wrapped up in your life’s purpose?

What if it’s simpler than that?

A quote of Buddha’s I’ve shared often in my public career is:

“Your life’s purpose is to find your life’s purpose.”

That is, it can take your whole life to work it out!

Clearly, if I’ve been quoting these words for decades, then I resonate with them and the concept.

Becoming the messenger for The Top Five Regrets of the Dying has certainly become a part of my life’s purpose. It has shaped much of my professional and personal journey. I’m honoured for the opportunities of service it has provided for me and the income that has also flowed from the role.

There is a deeper layer to that wisdom from Buddha, though.

What if our life purpose is simply to learn to love ourselves enough to prioritise our joy over suffering?

What if in doing so, in committing to joy being our life’s purpose, the purpose we then find through our professional self simply becomes a natural extension of that commitment?

What if the purpose is to embrace life as fully as possible, with no boundaries between work and personal experiences?

Any of those possibilities still take a lot of courage and work.

Your life’s purpose doesn’t need to be defined through a career or professional identity.

Perhaps your purpose is to heal your ancestral line, clearing the way for others following to experience joy without so much healing needed.

Perhaps your purpose is to connect with nature in a way that very few humans do anymore and to understand the sacredness of that connection, strengthening it for all of humanity simply through your experience and understanding, without ever going public about it.

Perhaps your purpose is to break free of family bonds and/or the expectations of others.

Or perhaps, it is simply to allow yourself more ease.

Any of these purposes may lead to a job you love, but does it have to?

No.

Your purpose is something that only your soul understands, so perhaps it’s time for the human part of you to take the pressure off from finding it - and simply enjoy the gift of your life instead.

Tune into your heart and give it permission to be happy.

With love,

Bronnie.

PS. An update on the Five Regrets movie: after nine years of the film’s option being tied up with a European production house, I recently decided to have the rights returned to me.

So, at this point, there is no Five Regrets film happening. However, since I had to decline a few fabulous offers during those nine years because the rights were tied up elsewhere, anything could happen now.

I’m a big believer in readiness and timing. If Five Regrets is to be adapted to film, well, time will tell.

I understand that some of you may be disappointed by my decision, especially those of you who write into my office regularly asking for an update! But there are many layers to my decision, regardless of the love I still feel for the crew at the original production house.

We have to tune into our hearts, make brave decisions, and take risks to live an authentic life. My heart is at peace with this decision.

Onward and upward!

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