Moving from Turmoil to Finding Purpose

It’s hard to escape from the reality that chaos seeks our attention at virtually every opportunity. While it may seem that the state of the world has gotten perceptibly worse (politically, economically, and environmentally), there has never been a point in human history when the average person could relax in a state of peace and sustenance–at least not for long. The reality of our world is that challenges will always and have always existed. Some of us may be highly sensitive to a new war or uprising in some portion of the world, while others are focused on battling life-threatening diseases ravaging their bodies. Unfortunately, the weight of these stressors often leaves people feeling helpless, anxious, defeated, and powerless. However, for a growing body of our population, enlightenment is happening. Out of the depths of despair, more and more of our friends, colleagues, and family are moving from turmoil to finding purpose in their lives and using this foundation as a catalyst for generating powerful change in our world.

What does finding purpose mean?

One of our most valuable gifts as human beings is the knowledge that each of us exists for a purpose. Your purpose is your reason for being. You have been granted life to do something with it–to contribute to the greater community of humankind. Some people say this is the reason you get up in the morning. But to be honest, many people with no sense of purpose get up in the morning simply out of habit. Instead, finding purpose allows you to live life to your fullest potential and feel you have made your contribution to the world each day. Living life according to your purpose gives you the strength to pull through dark days and overcome challenges in your path because you understand your unique value to the universe. Once you have fully discovered your purpose, you will find it guides your life decisions, behaviors, motivations, and goals.

Why don’t more people live a purposeful life that gives them meaning? In most cases, they haven’t done the work to find purpose in their lives and go from day to day using the same ritual of habits they’ve built over time. The challenge for each of us is to discover what our purpose is. Starting that journey doesn’t need to be complicated. Some of the questions we can ask ourselves to begin to explore our purpose are:

• Who am I?
• Where do I feel I belong?
• What fulfills me?
• When have I felt important?
• What are my gifts to the world?

However, even after considering these questions, many fail to commit to their purpose. The bravery to make the changes needed to live one’s purpose can be overwhelming, particularly if nothing pushes us to make the change.

How does turmoil bring us closer to purpose?

Call them habits, comfort zones, rituals…humans are keen to repeat behaviors that have allowed them to avoid their worst fears and physical death. You’ve probably heard someone proclaim, “I’d die if I had to stand on a stage in front of my colleagues and give a speech.” While it’s implausible they would actually meet their death, this common statement perfectly illustrates our psyche’s desire to keep us safe by setting boundaries around what we will and will not do. Instead, we routinely engage in activities we know are within those safe, padded walls of our boundaries.

Turmoil, however, is the great disruptor. A disruptor is an unexpected variable that changes the rules of the games for our psyche. For example, a person diagnosed with a brain tumor is now subject to a risk of death regardless of her previous habits that kept her safe. Someone who witnesses the plight of others in a war-torn nation may think differently about their own fears and become passionate about stepping up to help asylum seekers or speak up for peace. Living in an unstable economy and seeing other businesses close can create a new fear of job loss that may elevate a person’s ability to get in front of his colleagues and speak passionately about the need for unionization. People who have either survived a life-threatening event or are faced with a seemingly unbearable future are often most poised to make a positive change in their lives.

Times of unrest also awaken our senses to the need for change. Watching events unfold in the daily media can often be distressing. There’s a growing population of people learning how to get out from feeling helpless…about everything from their health situation to the overall state of the world…and committing to changing their way of being to lift up those around them. The first step towards achieving this goal is finding purpose so we can contribute our gifts and approach challenges with positivity and love. Turmoil can be just the push we need to go from where we are now to where we can be–as a future self living a purpose-centered life.

How does Earth and Soul Adventures help participants find purpose?

If you’re still reading this article, you may be precisely the kind of changemaker we need in our program. We work with motivated individuals from various backgrounds–many are entrepreneurs and small business owners–who intrinsically know they have more to offer the world than what they are providing today. Regardless of their background, one characteristic is true about each of our participants: they see an opportunity to reduce chaos and turmoil in our world by living a purpose-centered life.

Earth and Soul Adventures provides transformative travel experiences that completely remove participants from their environments and habits so they can discover themselves and create new perspectives and ways to connect with others. Our participants are immersed in nature and allowed time to think, breathe, and be. Daily physical and mental challenges push participants out of their comfort zones to prove they are more capable than they believe. By the end of our week-long intensive retreats, participants understand who they are, their capabilities, and how to use their purpose to live meaningful and productive lives.