I thought Trigger was a horse...

I was having a conversion with my 90+ year young mother trying to establish her trigger to surrender her car and keys. She loves her independence, yet she also knows she will willingly, or will be required to surrender her car at some point. Like most of us, she is wrestling with what that trigger is.

Over the years, I have discovered some of my sisters' triggers. She has a huge heart and is one to be on the ‘front lines’ of life, at all times. When she is not, I flip one of her triggers then sit back and watch her ‘spin-up’ faster than a bald tire on ice. :) It’s quite entertaining. You could say I have discovered a few of her triggers.

Discovering your Purpose is a very similar process, and all of us struggle with this most of our lives. I am convinced that there is something unique that is buried deep within each of us that we are designed to do or be during our lifetime.

When we don’t have a Purpose in life, Zig Ziglar said, we tend to be a… “Wandering Generality”. Home to work, home to work, pay the bills, camp out at social media sites, binge TV, wrestle with decisions, endlessly surfing the internet, occupy our time with meaningless activities, feeling bored, etc. Hence, we live an uninspired life under our circumstances, and the result is that we feel ‘stuck’. We don't have a direction or are not chasing a goal/dream. Henry David Thoreau said, “…We lead lives of quiet desperation…”; and yet we ask ourselves, if this is all there is?

Having revealed your Purpose, can serve you very well. When it comes to a decision, you can clearly and effortlessly say no to the good and yes to the great. With a purpose you now have clarity in your life, a direction, something to strive for.

Discovering and living your Purpose, is a lifelong process not a destination. As life marches on we must intentionally dig deep within ourselves to discover what is near and dear to our hearts. In other words, what is 'meaningful' to us. The goal is to know us better than anyone else, and discover the triggers that propels us to Strive AND to Fail. Our feeling of 'stuck', is a direct result of not having discovered your Purpose, or not in motion to do so.

‘Where do I start, to find my purpose’?

My reply to that statement is the same that I received from my mentor many years ago that helped me get my life off dead center. He said, “I can’t steer a parked car; only if you are in motion can I help you”. So my advice, is to pick something that appears to be meaningful (pulls your heart strings or tears you up when you think of it) to you, research it, pursue it, and explore it, now! Stand up and step out. This could be volunteering to serve others, higher education, planning a new home, forming a charitable foundation, planning a trip to Australia, etc. You decide. You may find out that this first adventure doesn't hold your interest. Now you know; then immediately move on to your next meaningful idea. The point being, if you are off the couch and in motion, I am confident you WILL find your purpose, in time, and your life will be so clear, meaningful and simple.

To have a rewarding, meaningful and impactful life you must find your Purpose, your Trigger. Plato said it well, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. You must be your best student, to understand YOU better than anyone else, and that means knowing your Trigger(s)…