Why Purpose is Your Ultimate Motivator
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Claire: [00:00:00] And sometimes, we have to recognize, is our purpose the right purpose. And that has been a journey that takes a long time to figure out for some of us. It's easier than others, but the best thing is to just every day, show up for yourself and ask yourself, what is my purpose?
Claire: Hey, everyone, welcome back to another episode of the small town entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host, Claire Bouvier. And today we're going to talk about something that can radically change the way you're going to be working in your business, in your organization, at your job and how you live. You're finding your purpose is going to be the [00:01:00] ultimate motivator in life.
Claire: By the end of this episode, you'll understand that when you tap into your purpose, what we call finding alignment in your North star will give you the. Limitless motivation and focus, no matter what challenges you face, what decisions you have to make and what the journey looks like. This is one thing that has changed my life and making sure that I'm always tapping into what is my purpose purpose.
Claire: We hear a lot and it's more than just a buzzword. It's that deep underlying reason why we get up in the morning. You're excited about something that you're going to be doing. That's. a great sense of purpose and it's such a good feeling.
Claire: And then you've probably also felt those days or months or weeks that it's just so laborious trying to get out of bed one foot in front of the other and to keep showing up and doing the work or the life that you're living. It can be hard. I've been in [00:02:00] both situations. As someone with ADHD, we ride the highs and lows in a big way for anyone that can relate.
Claire: And when we're excited, we are excited. And when things are heavy and long. Low, they carry deeply. And I know that a lot of us. Feel that from day to day, but something that has been so motivating to get me through the humps and Push me through those moments where you think I don't know what's going to happen next Always worried about what might happen always struggling being like, how is this all going to come together?
Claire: the biggest thing was is that I always found myself and some of you might relate that you're trying to think like, what's my priority right now in this moment? What should I be saying? Yes. Do what should I be? No, saying no to him. We're always saying, you know, build boundaries, say no, but sometimes it's really hard to be like, well.
Claire: I know I have to say yes to this and no to that. And that's a cognitive overload. We have to [00:03:00] make so many decisions in the day. And if you haven't ever tuned into the mindset mentor with host Rob Dial, he's awesome. And he talks a lot about the North Star, something that is always going to guide you and keep you on track.
Claire: So if we Get off the path and we go down this road and we get distracted and we were way over here. And we're like, what are we doing? Maybe when we're waking up, we're working on a project, we're going deep into something else. And we think, is this what's giving me joy? Is this creating purpose in my life?
Am I striving for the purpose in my life? And it's, hard because I find I'm always falling off the path and realigning. But in the last couple of years, it's been so powerful to be like, okay, I'm going to say no to these things because it doesn't actually align with the purpose that I've set out to do in this world.
Claire: And. Something for me, I always thought the purpose was something a little more tangible or linear, [00:04:00] but your purpose is something a lot bigger that maybe you don't even realize. And so, 1,you write it down and you say, you know, I'm on this planet for this purpose. Hopefully amount of time. And my goal every day is to show up and keep working towards this.
Claire: And it really keeps you accountable for your goals. It keeps you accountable for being the person you want to be accountable for your relationships, because you say, I'm here because I want to create this in my life. And for those of you that know me, and get to learn over time that I love statistics.
Claire: They really helped me recognize that when there's a number associated with it, it shows how clear and obvious it is. And 42 percent of people with a strong sense of purpose know exactly what their work is meant to be. Their lives are meant to be. They have this purpose in life. They are more satisfied by 42%.
Claire: [00:05:00] Then with their lives overall, and that alone is a very powerful indicator of, being able to be like, this is what I need to do these. This is when I say, yes, this is when I say no. So how do you find. What is your purpose? And for a lot of us, it takes a long time. Like I said, because you're going down all these paths and you're trying different things.
Claire: And There's nothing linear about our lives. One thing is that Rob Dyle talks about in his podcast is this idea of the North Star is this force that's guiding you to keep going forward.
Claire: it keeps you grounded. And no matter what the obstacles are, it allows you to make the decisions based on the purpose that you've set out and the clear, your purpose is, well, it's way easier to navigate all the obstacles and the uncertainties and the heartaches and all the things in your life.
Claire: And it really helps to always [00:06:00] know why we show up every day, be able to jump out of bed is because we have a purpose.
Claire: And for a long time, it was hard for me because I thought, well, can I have many purposes?The more you ask yourself the question and think about it, the more and clearer it becomes, because that's what I started doing is just asking myself every day.
Claire: What's the purpose of this day? What's the purpose of the work that I'm doing? Where am I going? What do I want to accomplish?
Claire: It really helps me to narrow my focus. So I want you to think about those days when you do feel really overwhelmed and you're pulled into a hundred different directions by friends, by family, by work, by relationships. But if you know what your purpose is. It becomes so much more calm and manageable,
Claire: my purpose is to help you.
Claire: on the journey of building your [00:07:00] confidence so that you can go out into the world and create great impact and to spread your awesome. And that really, to me, I have to always channel and tune back in and say, okay, does this decision align with my purpose? And it's nice because when you do have that purpose, it fuels your action.
Claire: and it's a momentum thing. The more actions, the more results that happen, and it becomes clearer on your purpose. And within that purpose, that's driving us to show up,
Claire: And the neat thing is, is that. When we start to ask ourselves every day about what is our purpose. It's magical, the things that start to happen because our purpose then aligns with the way we start thinking about the world, thinking about the decisions we make, and it acts as our driving force.
Claire: So, I want you to think about this for a second. People that [00:08:00] align their work with their purpose are 75 percent more engaged and productive. Straight up. That's wild. It's because they're not just working for a paycheck, but they're working for bigger than themselves. And sometimes we can get caught up in that.
Claire: I am for one victim of that, you know, how much will I get paid? And sometimes, you know, the paycheck will. Blind us a little bit or other reasons, but if we can always tune back, being like, should I take this job? Does this align with my focus, with my purpose? And if it doesn't, it makes the job easier to say no.
Claire: And over time, that was something I was horrific at. I said yes to everything. Literally everything. And while I got very sick and I had to completely quit my full time teaching job and had to learn a lot of things over the last 10, 15 years in this space. And so while I'm on the journey, I want to share, how important it is that we take time every [00:09:00] day.
Claire: and just lean into what is my purpose today and it makes your life a lot easier. And I remember hearing something to succeed. Does it really have to be that hard? And I think, you know, we hear less is more and it's true. Fewer decisions allow for a much happier life. And when we have that clear purpose, it's easier to make quick decisions and to keep moving.
Claire: And one of the most powerful things about having a purpose and really thinking about every day when you're doing your work, it makes you more resilient. And I've come to learn that I don't feel the pressures of people judging me or saying, you know, negative things, or maybe they're disappointed that you didn't show up for something because for whatever reason, or you just don't know what the reason is, but
Claire: that resilience of keep showing up for your purpose allows you to kind of narrow in and keep focus And sometimes, we have to recognize, is our purpose the right purpose. And that has been [00:10:00] a journey that takes a long time to figure out for some of us. It's easier than others, but the best thing is to just every day, show up for yourself and ask yourself, what is my purpose?
Claire: So to wrap up today's episode purpose. It isn't just a nice to have thing in our life. It's not a cherry on top or a bonus. It's crucial for our humanity and it increases your productivity. It's going to build you to be more resilient, which is going to lead to confidence in your work and personal lives.
Claire: And ultimately it's going to drive long term success. Look at all the successful people that you look up tothey have purpose and they're on that journey and they stay focused. So this week I challenge you to identify just one part in your life where you can create just a little bit more meaning and figure out how this will lead to the purpose in [00:11:00] your life.
Claire: And you might not find out for a while, but keep asking yourself,Finding that purpose in your actions, just looking at how you do it and watch how your motivation shifts will be really impactful.
Claire: As soon as you set these intentions, you'll start noticing it and you'll become more and more self aware. Victor Frankl said, those who have a why to live can bear with almost any how. I love that. When you know your purpose, You'll find the strength and you'll find the motivation to go out and tackle anything that life throws at you.
Claire: And I truly believe it. And again, always start small, start asking the question, let the purpose be your guide and figuring out what in every action that you do is leading you to that purpose. Your potential is limited. Go out there, spread your awesome. Thank you for tuning in to the small town entrepreneur podcast.
Claire: And if you liked this and it resonated with you, leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners like you. Thank you. And We'll see [00:12:00] you soon.
