You are here to feel inspired, create joy, and be fulfilled. When you do the things that take your breath away or make your heart sing, you live with passion and purpose. You feel in complete alignment with your soul’s calling. Your full self-expression is greater than the job you do, the roles you play, or how successful you are in the world. Being fully self-expressed is being purposeful in every moment no matter what you are doing, where you are, or who you are with.
In his commencement address at Stanford University in 2005, Steve Jobs, the creative visionary and founder of Apple, Inc., succinctly described being purposeful in the moment when he challenged students to ask themselves: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?” When your answer to this question is yes, you know you are listening to the guidance of your heart and making choices that align with it. If you answer no, examine your current choice and ask yourself, “Why am I making a choice that is not aligned with my soul’s journey.”
In Japan, having such purpose is called ikigai, meaning “the reason you get up in the morning.” Although you have many ideas about what you “should” do, having a purpose for getting up in the morning can make or break your day. It can be the difference between living a soul-crushing life or an inspired and fulfilled one. Finding these reasons comes from taking time in solitude to connect with your soul through your heart.
You may feel afraid that if you follow your soul’s calling you will make a mistake, displease someone, or lose what you already have. Out of fear, you may avoid listening to your heart and drift aimlessly through life without a spiritual compass. You may stay in a soul-sucking job or relationship, afraid to venture out of your comfy cozy place and do makes you feel passionate and fully alive.
Your habitual comfort zones, when they suppress your soul expression, might more accurately be called “deadening zones.” They are like the yellow tape outlining a body at a crime scene, keeping all the fear in―and keeping everything else out. In order to express who you truly are, you must step outside the confines of these dead zones and move toward, rather than away from, what you fear.
Following your heart and living purposefully takes ab-soul-lute trust in yourself, moving forward in the face of fear, and a desire to be in sync with your soul’s journey.
Here are a few ways to heed the calling of your soul.
- Be aware of the daily experiences that inspire you, create joy or make your heart sing. Notice the elements that run through these experiences and let them guide the choices you make. Whatever feeds your heart and soul, do more of this!
- Journal or write down your core values, what you hold dear, the aspects of your life that matter most, or the non-negotiables in your life. These are your soul elements. Then ask yourself: Am I channeling my most of my time and energies here? Allocate most of you time, energy, and attention to these core soul elements. Set healthy boundaries with others so that you create more time and energy for these.
- Listen to your heart and use this information to make the inspired choices that align with your soul’s journey. You don’t have make grand gestures, just small consistent steps toward fulfilling your dreams. Just putting your heart and soul into something new or different, love and joy will follow.
Your soul’s purpose isn’t defined or limited by finding the one reason you are here. On the contrary, it encompasses a multitude of passions that inspire soul-hearted living.
