Okay, so today is the BIG day where you’re going to be holding in your hand a purpose statement that’s clear, stirs your heart, and perhaps most importantly, actionable.
If you’ve been following the exercises then this is most likely going to be a snap. If not, you seriously need to go through identifying your RECIPIENT, ROLE, AND RESULTS. Why? You’re unique purpose is the sweet spot where those three elements overlap…literally.
In order to write a purpose statement that includes all three elements use this very simple rubric:
I believe God created me to help ____(recipient)____, by______(role)________, so that_____(result)______.
I can almost hear two discordant thoughts going off in your head right now. One is “You’ve got to be kidding me it can’t be that simple and formulaic.” But I am telling you writing your purpose statement is truly that straight forward. Hundreds of people have used this formula to find a clear actionable direction for their life.
I’ll go out on a limb here and even assert that God’s purpose statement looks like this. Don’t believe me. How about this:
For God so loved the world (recipient) that he gave his only begotten son (role) so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (result).
Let me show you examples from my own purpose work. Here are some of my core component notes, a concise statement, and then one of my actual longer statements written during my 90 day review of life goals (FYI-I revise my purpose statement every 90 days.)
RECIPIENT: I am concerned about people who are missing out on the beauty of life. People who are burdened by stress and directionless and perhaps not even realizing it. I am also concerned for Christians who want to be closer to God, but aren’t sure what they should do to grow in their faith.
ROLE: Computer skills, Writing, Speaking, Video, Lots of special “how-to” knowledge around: bible study, prayer, and faithful application. Teaching. Creating resources.
RESULT: People going into their day with a clear sense of who they are and what they want to accomplish — I envision a woman waking up alert, ready, and enthusiastic about going into her day. I can see her settling into a chair with a piping hot cup of coffee in the morning for a few minutes of quiet time with God. She reads, prays, journals, sets a godly intention for the day. She goes through the day tackling a number of to-do’s. She’s given herself permission to just do what she can realistically do and she doesn’t easily get side tracked into other people’s expectations. She goes to bed feeling great about her day. Ready to rest well. She takes a few minutes at the end of the day to give an honest review of what she’s done well and an improvement she can work on. She loves her life and is honoring God with her gifts.
CONDENSED PURPOSE STATEMENT:
I believe God created me to help worn out Christians who are spiritually hungry by offering them practical tips, tools and strategies, so that they can have a deeper connection with Him and fully live into the abundant joy he desires for them by becoming the best version of themselves.
Do you see the recipient, role and result in this statement? Your statement doesn’t have to be this tightly constructed. In fact, I expect it won’t be. Take a look at my unrefined and more typical statement below. You’ll notice I ignore the rubric altogether at first, use it, and then just sort pep talk myself in a fun way at the end.
TYPICAL PURPOSE FOR ME:
My purpose in life is to live a joyful vibrant life that inspires others to go for it…To go for their dreams and passions in a way that honors God. God created me to help people who are yearning for a deeper more meaningful life by creating practical strategies that empower them to connect with God more deeply, live life more fully and become the absolute best versions of themselves.
Don’t be a quiet presence. Live big. Live loud. Make a profound difference and be a blessing with all the blessings you’ve been given. Rock this world Johnnie with every gift you’ve got!
My purpose statement has gotten a lot tighter. I used to include many statements about my family. That’s fairly internalized for me now though, so I don’t write it as often.
Okay, so I said I can imagine two thoughts are rumbling around in your head. Here’s the other thought I suspect you might be having: “But I have a bunch of recipients and a bunch of gifts. So I can list many purpose statements using this rubric.”
Here’s what you need to realize – The angst your feeling about honing in on one, two, or a few things is driven by a myth and it’s unnecessary.
The myth is this…We have this cultural view that someone’s purpose is suppose to be this big, flashy, single purpose mission. We are driven to believe this because of archetypal hero stories we’ve been exposed to where the main character, struggles in life, confronts a tremendous challenge that only they can do something about, and then through great sacrifice achieves the ONE thing and everyone lives happily ever after. That’s a fantasy.
That mythology gets reinforced by the extremely rare examples of people like Mother Theresa or Ghandi whose life is focused around a single clear epic mission.
I call this the “Bowie Knife” mindset. That metaphor comes from my days of teaching wilderness skills and seeing person after person who wanted to have a great big, flashy Bowie knife that in the end was limitedly functional. God didn’t make most of us to be Bowie knives. Most of us are more like Swiss Army knives or just your good old fashioned three blade pocket knives. And that’s totally okay.
Here’s two reasons you should give yourself a break and let go of your angst above and beyond the fact that it’s based on a myth.
First, as long as you are doing something in that SWEET SPOT where a deep concern God has placed in your heart overlaps with how you can use the gifts he’s given you, and your hope is to benefit the common good – YOU CAN’T GO WRONG.
You will be being faithful with your gifts and trying to love your neighbor as yourself. That’s all God’s asking of us.
The other reason you need to relax is that your purpose isn’t a stagnant static one time endeavor. You can and should revise it periodically. If you live into what you write today and it doesn’t quite feel right, I can all but guarantee you that your life is already better for doing that work.
Furthermore, no matter how perfect your purpose fits now, the opportunities and needs around you are going to shift and flow. Your gifts are going to grow. AND, you’re going to need to rethink your purpose.
Don’t get me wrong…there will be what I call meta-themes of purpose that seldom change for you. For example, I cannot imagine that I will ever be in a season of life where God won’t be using me to teach people practical tools. That focus has been with me all my life and likely will continue.
I hope this relieves enough of your angst (if you had any) to dive in and write your purpose statement. I would encourage to trust this process. The formula is tried and true.
So here’s what you need to do today:
ACTION STEP #1 Connect with what matter most to you before writing. Complete and review the exercises for identifying your RECIPIENT, ROLE, and RESULT. Sit with those insights for a few minutes before you begin to write. Consider which needs tug at your heart most, which gifts you would most like to use, and what your greatest hopes are. This is necessary pump priming for writing your statement.
ACTION STEP #2 Pray for God’s guidance and then write using the rubric:
I believe God created me to help ______(recipient)_______,
by __________(role)________________________________,
so that_________(result)_____________________________.
Having personally done this a bunch of times I would recommend that you:
1) Write quickly. I actually set a timer for 7 minutes when I do this. I turn the timer on and write as fast as I can for 7 minutes then set down my pen.
2) Don’t battle the words: Throw down your thoughts in a stream of consciousness fashion. Thinking and reflecting should happen BEFORE you write. If you’ve done that work, the statement will flow. If you don’t do the work, the result is often times a pretty statement that is reflective of other people’s expectations and ‘should’s’ that you feel rather than reflective of your heart’s deepest yearnings for meaningfully serve.
3) Let go of performance anxiety. No one is going to grade this. Feel free to resort to phrases and bullet points if your struggling with how to word something. This statement if for you.
Lastly, all of this equates to — You don’t need a perfect statement, you need a completed statement that reflects the truth of who you are.
ACTION STEP #3 Post your purpose where you can see and read it aloud everyday for at least one week.
You must position your purpose strongly in your conscious mind for it to shape your daily choices and actions.
ACTION STEP #4 Share your purpose statement with our private Facebook group, IF you’re comfortable with that. A purpose statement written from the deepest heart of who you are can feel like an extremely personal thing to share. So, I can understand if you are hesitant to post it in our private Facebook group, but my experience in walking through this process with many people is that sharing your statement is incredibly empowering. Plus, I created the private Facebook group as a safe place for us to share, ponder, encourage, and journey together.
You can see my newly revised purpose statement in the comments below today’s Facebook post.
God’s richest blessings on you as you write your statement. Please have fun with this and post any questions you may have in the private Facebook group.
Peace,
John Arnold
PS: Okay, so what happens once you know your purpose? That’s the subject of our fifth and final day.
PPS: Don’t forget – Live Facebook today, 11am (CDT) HERE.
Day 4 – Facebook Live Recording