Calibrate Your Purpose Compass
People most often come to me for coaching because they sense something is off in their lives - whether it’s a job that no longer feels meaningful, work life balance that is unsustainable, or ADHD that has gone untreated for decades and the fatigue has finally gotten to them. Something in their lives is not aligned with who they are now.
In essence clients come to me to help figure out their purpose. So today I’m starting a series on purpose and how to find your purpose.
We’ll start with how to recognize the signs that your body sends you about your purpose. Next month, I’ll give you some specific journaling exercises to help think about your specific purpose.
When I think of purpose, what I mean is the impact you want to make on the world that is personally fulfilling for you. Purpose is a journey and it can change over your lifetime, but there will be a thread throughout your life that the universe has been nudging you towards.
It’s hard to determine your purpose without being able to feel the signals that your body is giving about what feels right and what doesn’t feel right, so we’ll start with that.
Your Body Compass: Body compass is literally the first coaching tool I learned in my first coach training (Martha Beck’s Wayfinder coach training). Your body gives constant signals - whether it’s telling you you’re hungry or cold or too hot (or maybe both at 2:00 am- thanks menopause!). Your body tells you if you’re angry or in a dangerous situation. Most of the time we ignore where our bodies are telling us because we’re so busy. Have you ever had an experience where you suddenly realized you were hangry? That’s because you ignored what your body was saying until it was screaming at you. The body compass allows us to tune in a little bit earlier in the process. Like any compass, it first needs calibration.
Here’s how it works.
Start by sitting with both of your feet on the ground.
Close your eyes, take two or three deep breaths and slowly exhale.
Step One: Calibrating the Negative Compass
When you’ve settled and feel a little more grounded, think about something that upset you. Not the worst day of your life. If you think about a scale where zero is neutral and -10 is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, pick something that’s around a seven. Not the worst, but definitely upsetting.
Imagine that moment in your mind and notice what you feel in your body. What sensations do you feel? Describe those sensations. Do they feel hot or cold? How would you describe the feeling? Is it like a ball? Is it like sludge? Does it feel like fire? Put some words around it to describe the feeling. Write down what you felt.
Now you know some of the signals your body gives you when you do not like something.
Shake that off - physically shake your body. Take a few deep breaths with some long exhales and let’s do the other side of the compass.
Step Two: Calibrating the Positive Compass
On the positive side of the compass, zero is a neutral day and +10 is the best thing that’s ever happened to you. Choose something that again is around seven or maybe at eight.
Bring that moment or experience in your mind like you’re back in it again. What do you notice in your body? Is there an area that softens? What is the temperature? Describe the sensation and write it down. Now you know what signals your body gives when you like something.
Step Three: Using Your Compass
Over the next couple of weeks, notice the signals your body sends you by tuning into the sensations you felt in the body compass calibration.
Write down what you’re doing when you get a positive compass reading, and what you are doing when you get a negative compass reading. If you were working, note what kind of work you were doing - subject matter, type of work (such as a meeting, or writing, or leading or planning), and anything else you notice about that moment. Were you working alone or in a group? Where were you? And anything else that seems notable. Write down also the feeling you had.
Finally, notice if there are times when you’re working or doing a task and you’re in flow, meaning you feel like you could do it for hours and not get tired. Alternatively, notice what tasks drain your energy.
Noticing is 80% of the work in finding your purpose, so get super curious about your compass!
We will put all of this data together in part two of this blog, along with a few more concepts and some journaling questions to help you on your way to knowing your purpose.
If you have any trouble with these exercises of the body compass, please reach out. We can do it together. See you back next month!