It’s becoming increasingly clear that our society is undergoing an epidemic of stress. The demands of daily life can make us feel like we’re treading water, and stress has the manipulative ability to convince us that we’re not good enough. Toxic stress leads to other physiological and psychological issues, including chronic fatigue, high-functioning anxiety, and depression. However, once we are able to understand the true source of our stress, we can begin to separate from it, find equilibrium, and feel a renewed sense of joy and enthusiasm for life.

For many, the true source of stress is coming from a deeper place: a lack of purpose. In the capitalist society of which we live, we are expected to know what we want to do with our lives at the extremely young age of 18-years-old. Besides a lucky few, most of us move through our lives with this false sense of who we are and what we should be doing in order to do one thing: survive. The thing that takes you from surviving to thriving is having the opportunity to identify your intuitive mission in life -- your purpose -- and this can be done at any age.

There is something within all of us which is present from birth: intuition. Intuition isn’t something necessarily encouraged in our society beyond the expression “go with your gut.” However, our intuition is a powerful source of valuable information about ourselves. In psychology terms, our intuition is sometimes referred to as our Higher Self. Think of your Higher Self as you at your very best. Our intuition is often stifled early on in life for mostly one reason, you guessed it: survival. It is not always safe for us to listen to our intuition, which is why it’s truly a privilege to commune with your Higher Self and identify your mission in life. And it’s a privilege you should take advantage of. Here are five steps to identifying your mission in life. You may want to start a fresh piece of paper titled “Summary Sheet” where you can write down your answers to each numbered question:

1. Determine a spiritual ideal. This is the basis for finding your mission. A spiritual ideal consists of trust and aspiration, and it needs to be something of your own. It needs to resonate deeply inside you, a sense of comfort should come over you when you think about it. A spiritual ideal acts as a lighthouse on the stormy seas; whenever the waves of life hit, your spiritual ideal is there shining bright, always guiding you. One way to determine a spiritual ideal is through contemplative meditation. From a meditative state, ask yourself the following questions: (1) What do you long for? (2) What makes you whole? 

Try to focus on maintaining stillness of the mind while also listening for the voice behind your thoughts. That voice is your intuition. Jot down anything that comes to mind and examine the list afterwards. Perhaps there are words you wrote down that can be morphed into an ideal. A strong spiritual ideal is one that makes everything seem purposeful and meaningless at the same time. 

2. Consider the qualities in the people you admire. The psychology term “projection” refers to unconsciously projecting the parts of ourselves we don’t like onto others, also known as our “shadow.” Knowing this, we should actively try to work against it, but the good news is projection goes both ways. The qualities you admire in other people are also qualities you possess, even though they may be seed-like in form. 

On a fresh piece of paper, write down the names of two people you very much admire. One at a time, bring that person to mind for one minute and consider five or six qualities which make them admirable to you. Take your time to really visualize that person. After you’ve done circle three qualities from each person’s column which you think also describe you. 

3. Make a list of your own talents, strengths, and abilities. Take a moment to think about what accomplishments and successes you’ve had so far in life. For each of these, consider which of your personal talents, strengths or abilities that were required in order for you to be successful. Notice if there are any similarities in your talents and strengths. Is there anything that was required for more than one accomplishment? Something may surprise you! Feel free to write these down on a separate sheet. 

Another way to connect with your intuitive talents is to recall times when your own excellence was shining through. Think about any instances where you felt “connected” to everything around you or to yourself. Bring to mind any instances of heightened creativity, and any times when you felt intuitive sensitivity. Notice if there are any new discoveries here, or any similarities to your other talents.

4. List three weaknesses and find the “gold” within. Weaknesses are what make us human and we all have them. Even though they can be hard to face, they should be identified. Within weakness we can find buried strengths which are getting distorted. Edgar Cayce called this finding the “gold” within our weaknesses, because these are powerful strengths we can uncover. This process of reflection is extremely valuable for igniting self-compassion, and it also helps us see our potential. Make a list of two to three faults. Examine the list one at a time in a contemplative way, and genuinely ask yourself what talent or strength is being distorted, misused, or overdone here? For example, someone who is judgemental is actually very discerning. Someone who is impatient is actually very idealistic.

6. Draft a mission statement. This process of reflection ultimately leads up to writing a mission statement for yourself. This is not a job description though; this is a description of the mission of your life. It describes something that you could certainly do for work, but it should also have the capacity to expand into other parts of your life. There should be many ways for you to live out your mission statement. 

Before drafting this out, bring to mind your spiritual ideal as it will help guide the reflection. Out of all your talents and strengths, identify which six of these are your absolute core strengths. It’s also a great idea to consider how your six core talents and strengths can work together as a team. Your mission statement may start forming, and it might be long at first. Write down any phrases that come to mind for your mission. Get some thoughts like this on paper and only later start to form it into a more concise statement. 

It’s a great joy and privilege in my life to guide people through this process, and I’m excited to be able to offer workshops online and in person. Feel free to reach out with any questions!

By Casey Allard, 2021