You have two major decisions to make in life. The first is understanding your life’s purpose – your “why.” The second is figuring out how you’ll live – your “how.” This involves making choices that align with your purpose and lead you in the right direction. You need to decide how to navigate life’s challenges, what to say “yes” or “no” to, and who to share your journey with.
If you get the “why” and the “how” in the wrong order, it’s problematic. Many of us make this mistake and dive into the “how” without considering the “why.” If our actions (the “how”) aren’t informed by our purpose (the “why”), our lives can feel meaningless and dissatisfying, as if something fundamental is missing.
Most people spend little or no time clarifying their values and purpose. As a result, they often live by others’ values or act inconsistently, driven by different goals in different situations.
The goal of “Find and Live Your Purpose” is to help you clarify your values and purpose, and to live a life aligned with your core principles. Your purpose isn’t something you create; it’s already within you and needs to be discovered. The aim is to help you understand and live by your core values more authentically.
This work is very personal to me. In the early 1990s, I was running a retreat center in the Scottish Highlands and felt overwhelmed. I came across Stephen Covey’s book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People,” which had been recommended to me years earlier. Initially, I avoided it, assuming Covey’s definition of success was materialistic. However, I learned that Covey’s idea of success was about living with awareness and making meaningful choices.
I discovered that the first three of Covey’s Seven Habits were closely aligned with the first three fetters in Buddhism that must be broken for insight to arise. This marked the beginning of awakening in spiritual life. The synergy between Covey’s principles and Buddhist teachings was transformative for me, and it provided clarity that shaped my life’s direction.
“Find and Live Your Purpose” aims to help you feel confident that you’re on the right path, and to achieve a sense of wholeness, completeness, and happiness. The course also aims to bring you closer to Awakening. We’ll draw on Buddhist teachings and Covey’s principles, which overlap but are expressed differently.
You don’t need to have read Covey’s book or be deeply familiar with Buddhist teachings to benefit from this course. The guided meditations, daily readings, and personal reflections are designed to help you progress on your path to awakening.
If you’re interested in joining this online course, which includes guided meditations and daily teachings via email, you can click here to learn more.