What concrete steps can you take (TODAY) to start living your purpose?

Someone interested in our 10 Day Soul Awakening Bootcamp recently asked; “What steps can you take today to start living your purpose?”

Concrete steps to find your purpose.

The purpose of your life, according to the teachings of Esther Hicks, is joy.

Joy?!

I used to think this was a trite response. I’ve come to realize it’s profound.

We each have an inner truth that represents who we really are and what we deeply desire.

Ignore it. Be practical.

From a young age, many of us are taught to ignore our inner voice. So we begin to disassociate from our inner wisdom in order to fit in, to please others, to feel safe and to be liked.

We’re taught to be practical.

To make money (at the expense of all else).

To bottle up our emotions.

To deny our truth.

Until we get to a point where we aren’t even sure what our truth is anymore.

But, if you pay attention, you’ll realize [bctt tweet=”your inner voice is always calling you to more joy.” username=”vanessaloder”]

I’ve spent the past ten years finding my purpose, and coaching thousands of others in discovering and living their purpose. Here’s what I’ve learned;

The secret to living your purpose is…

Listen to your heart and intuition and follow your soul’s whispers = curiosity & joy.

What does that mean? How do you do that?

I’ll be giving you tons of practical tools and strategies in our upcoming 10 Day Soul Awakening Bootcamp to do just that.

In the meanwhile, here are three ways you can begin to discover your purpose today.

1. Do something silly or arbitrary that brings you joy.

What’s one thing you can do today that’ll bring you joy?

Sure, you can eat a chocolate donut but I’m talking about something that gives you a more lasting, inner joy.

It might be helpful to think of a time when you were at your best, or when you helped someone else in a way that brought you joy.

What, specifically, were you doing? Can you do more of that today?

If nothing comes to mind, do something silly or small that brings you joy. Dance to your favorite song, hug a puppy, buy someone else a latte and say God made you do it. Whatever floats your boat.

The more you follow your joy, the more you’re living your purpose each day.

2. What did you do as a kid that was a little bit weird?

My sister Alexa gave me this awesome question. She’s getting her PhD in depth psychology and took a whole class on how to find your purpose!

Chances are that “weird” thing you did as a kid is related to your purpose in life. Often, the things we dismiss as random or weird are connected to our unique gift.

A big part of everyone’s purpose in life is to share your unique gift with the world.

Because your unique gift is so unique, chances are you may have labeled it as weird or dismissed it. Or it comes to you so naturally that you don’t think it’s a big deal.

I used to start all these secret clubs with my girlfriends when I was a kid. I’d pretend I was their teacher and give out homework (which they actually completed!). Now I coach groups of women…go figure!

What did you do as a kid that was random or weird?

3. Connect to your heart.

Sit quietly and begin to still your mind with three deep inhales and exhales. Place your hand on your heart. Visualize or imagine your heart is filling with a beautiful, gold light. You may even want to tap your heart gently and say; “Open, open, open.”

Once you feel connected to your heart, ask yourself the following question; “Hmmm, in what way have I been ignoring my heart or intuition? What has my inner voice been trying to tell me that I haven’t been hearing?”

You may receive an answer with words, symbols, images, colors, or a sensation. There’s no right answer, whatever you sense or experience is just fine.  

I did this to myself just now and heard; “just relax,” which is exactly the advice I needed today!

To sum up, in order to live your purpose today, I invite you to:

• Follow your curiosity and joy
• Be weird
• Connect to your heart

After you’ve read this post, I’d love to hear from you!  What did you do as a kid that was a little “weird” and how might that be related to your unique gift or purpose in the world? What brings you joy?  

Leave a comment BELOW!