What I know about living your life purpose
There is no doubt I'm living in alignment with my life purpose.
And though that's a pretty big statement to make, I'm confident in making it because I feel a sense of genuine peace and my life, and especially the things associated with this blog and its message, is flowing with such ease that it sometimes makes me wonder if this is even reality.
People with the skill-sets I need to take my message further are showing up and offering their support and those who come across my work are saying exactly what my spirit needs to hear when I most need to hear it in order to keep moving forward. I feel inspired and have more content than I have the capacity to create. The days go by SO fast and I find myself wishing for more hours because the work I do feels like play. Themes are emerging in my work life that are also emerging in my private life and it all feels so beautifully aligned in the most synchronistic way.
And it's strange because I can't remember a time when I didn't long for this feeling. Finding that thing I knew I was meant to do used to consume me and though I've only started to make a splash... there is SO much more I need to learn, it feels amazing to finally know I'm on the right track.
To align with your purpose is to heal and to heal is to raise your vibration and something we don't often talk about when we talk about raising our vibration is how difficult it becomes to connect with who we were before things shifted. The shift I've made over the past few years to align with my purpose was so great that some people have asked if I'm a walk-in. I'm not, but I can understand why some people might feel that way. Until I made the decision to lean into who I really am and what I'm really meant to do, I was so out of alignment with my truth. There is no wonder I felt depressed and unsure. I was living a lie and if there is anything empaths can't handle it's inauthenticity.
The yellow flowers in these pictures are not random, yellow is the colour of the solar plexus, a chakra associated with your authentic life purpose!
If you know you have a purpose and you're feeling an urgency to live it, you aren't alone. There are a lot of people in this community and in this world feeling a need to be where they subconsciously know they are supposed to be. People are increasing in sensitivity and lives are being shaken up. Many of us are outgrowing (or being forced out of) relationships, places and things (hobbies, jobs, ideas, beliefs) that no longer resonate with the part of us that knows there is something more. There is a movement happening and it is BEAUTIFUL; people are opening up to their intuition, surrendering to an energy much greater than themselves (even if they can't put a language to that energy) and are getting curious about how they go about stepping into their place to lead, guide, and support others in doing the same.
And the effects of this are rippling.
Being intentional about finding our place creates change; change in the lives of the people we are meant to meet and change in the energetic frequency of this earth as a whole. But it isn't all breezy. The shift, the move, the change in vibration is creating an urgency that feels uncomfortable. It's also creating loss and loss feels unfair.
When we make the intention to align with our purpose all sorts of things come up to be healed and because I've been through it, and continue to work through it every day, I thought I'd dedicate today's post to sharing a bit on my personal journey into my purpose and eleven of the things I've learned about living a purpose driven life along the way.
MY JOURNEY
My journey into my purpose started in 2012.
I was in a program I hated, in a long-term relationship my partner and I were outgrowing and surrounded by people who really didn't get it. I felt lost and unsure and even though I knew I wasn't where I was supposed to be and that I wasn't living the life I knew I was meant to live, I was comfortable and resisted the inner voice that told me I needed to lean into something different. So things fell apart; I got sick, my relationship got unhealthy, I dropped out of school. I was being told loud and clear to change and I wasn't listening so the non-physical had no choice but to shake things up to get my attention. I resisted even more and things got worse. My best friend died, my relationship ended and things got so messy that I lost most everything else in the process. Rock bottom was unbearable and I had no choice but to surrender, show up and listen. So I did, for a while, until I got comfortable again and stopped. The non-physical stepped in again and the things I cared about the most were ripped from my life once again.
Rock bottom the first time felt unbearable, rockbottom a second time nearly took me out.
It was overwhelming and I was angry but from the overwhelm and anger came a clean slate to build things back up the right way; the way that was in alignment with who I really was and what I really wanted for my life and this world as a whole.
I started to lean into the concepts I tried so hard to avoid. I started to learn about boundaries and recognize the feeling of acting out of fear of what others thought rather than acting in alignment with what I knew to be true. I started calling in people and experiences to learn the lessons I needed to learn to speak up and speak out and I started to listen to my still small voice rather than avoid it for comfort. And all of this lead me to where I am today, a space that is NOTHING like where I was a few years ago.
Not long ago I came across the path of one of the intuitives I met when I was at my lowest and ready to exit this world. He was the first person to validate my need to live my purpose and though much of what he said seemed too out there for me at the time, he was adamant that I stay and see this life through. He told me I came with a very specific "mission" and that if I left there were a lot of people who wouldn't get the support they needed. I knew in my heart I had a purpose and that this life was more than "grow up, get a job, have a family, die" and hearing him say it out loud validated so much within me. He kept saying "stay with us and write" and though I appreciated his enthusiasm for my life, I didn't want to stay and I didn't want to write. I wanted to leave. Life was really, really hard and things were really heavy. But I stayed and I worked through it and I got to a space where life got easier and things got light and when I came across his path after not seeing him since that day I needed him most, he remembered me and brought everything full circle: "Rob. You're still here. I'm really glad you stayed. And that you're doing the work you came here to do." It brought such peace to hear him say I made it because the last time I saw him I really didn't think I would.
Around the same time I received another validation from another intuitive who carried me through my toughest years:
"Honey, you have come in leaps and bounds in terms of your growth and progress towards your “purpose.” You are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing – so you definitely need to continue. I am so very proud of you for pursuing all that your heart has been calling you to do. You can’t ever go wrong when you do that – because truly our purposes are actually found in our hearts! Those strong callings, interests and yearnings: those are all a part of our all-around “purpose.” Robin, part of your purpose is to get your “message” out there – and to become more known and widely -available for people. It’s time to expand sweetheart … seriously. You are doing so very well and again I am EXTREMELY proud of you!!! But keep going!"
I tell you this because life gets easier. Things don't always feel as heavy and confusing as they might feel right now. If you know there is something you are meant to do but can't yet see your potential and don't yet know exactly what it is there are people out there who do! Ask to be guided to them. If you do know your potential but you are afraid of it because you are afraid of what it will mean to align with it, there will come a day when you won't have a choice. It's much easier to follow the guidance (both the inner guidance and the external guidance) when it shows up than to resist it and have that guidance knock you to your knees to make you listen.
I'm where I am meant to be and I wish more than anything to be able to go back to my younger self and tell her it's all going to be okay. But since I can't, I'm going to tell YOU that it's all going to be okay by sharing what I've learned about living a purpose driven life so you too can step into alignment and feel the peace I'm finally experiencing.
Here are 11 things I've learned about life purpose and what it means to find yours.
11 Things I've Learned About Finding + Living Your Life Purpose
1. Your purpose is in your pain.
When I started this diary I knew I wanted to talk about energy and how acknowledging I had energy needs and surrounding myself with people and resources that reflected my energy needs changed my life. I was depressed (so, so, so depressed) and it wasn't until I met someone who validated my unique needs as an intuitive person and encouraged me to take my energy back to take my life back that the world stopped feeling so heavy. Though I am drawn to all areas of human rights/animal rights and want to support all beings through all things, I've learned that I've overcome what I've overcome for a reason and that reason is to help others overcome the same thing too.
2. Your purpose is your pain but your past is an illusion.
You know how mindfulness and living in the present is an important part of the conversation on intentional living? It's because to truly live an intentional life the past can't have control over you. Time is an illusion and on an energetic level, the past isn't even 'real'. Think about what you did right before you read this article. Where does that experience exist? It exists in your head; it's not 'reality' ...meaning it's not part of the present moment. This isn't to say what happened in the 'past' is not valid; it's to say though that the past only has as much control as we intentionally give it. Far too often we get so immersed in our past that we forget that all we ever have is the present. When we let our past dictate our reality, and consequently our future, we hold ourselves back from our potential.
I've struggled most with this when it comes to my social work degree. When I decided to start this blog I had SO MUCH RESISTANCE about it not being traditional 'social work' when I had spent so much time getting my degree/s. Thankfully I realized my education was the past and from where I was at the moment of starting this site, the past only existed in my thoughts and I could choose to not let a piece of paper control my future. If we let our past control us, we won't ever get to where we are meant to go.
3. When you ask for guidance the things you'll be drawn to will feel random.
When I finally took stepping into my life purpose seriously I felt an overwhelming need to go vegan and go off birth control. I didn't want to go off birth control because I had tried when I was younger and broke out in horrible acne and I didn't want to be plant-based because I was so desensitized to the pain of the meat-industry and thought veganism would be really hard. HINT: It's not. What I didn't know at the time was that these pulls to eliminate these things were what I needed to increase my intuition to be able to write and mentor the way that I do. My work requires I be a clear channel and being a clear channel requires I be intentional about what I put into my physical body.
4. It will be scary.
We are here to grow and growth never comes from things being easy. In addition to your purpose being connected to your pain, there are specific hurdles you signed up to grow through during your experience on earth and these hurdles are directly related to your life purpose. I'm a lifepath 1, which means I'm meant to be a creative leader. I HATE leading; I wish more than anything to crawl under a rock and not be seen. The 4s and 9s in my chart make sharing my life really hard for me and feeling comfortable sharing personal details and the lessons I'm learning is something I work at every day. The same with claiming the word 'empath' - I only use that word in this space and in conversations with others who consciously feel and interpret energy. The 9 in my chart HATES being 'special' in any way but the 4s remind me that a label is just a way to normalize experiences and get people to the resources they need to feel better and heal. I've watched this happen again and again and it's beautiful. It guts me though, and when I have to use it or defend it with people who don't live it I get overwhelmed and panicked.
5. You will doubt yourself, constantly.
There is a misconception in the world of self-help that finding your purpose is the secret to a happy, healthy life. And while there is a grace to finding and living your purpose (things flow, you feel inspired, you finally feel safe and on track and no longer have an overwhelming air of inauthenticity in your being) it's not all good all the time. I can't even tell you how many times I've thought about closing down this site and the social media accounts associated with it... not because things weren't going well, but because I got doubtful about my ability to lead this conversation. Doubt is natural and normal and something that's as much a part of life purpose as happiness and peace.
6. There will be sacrifices.
When we step into our purpose we have to leave other things behind... and we've been conditioned to believe this means failing. We've been conditioned to believe a relationship is only successful if we make it to 50 years, that a career is only successful if we climb the corporate ladder, and that we are only capable and competent with a degree and the right letters after our name. And so those of us who feel the pull to purpose often push it down to fit in with these societal beliefs.
“Be daring. Be different. Be impractical. Be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”
I met the person I thought I would marry when I was really, really young. When he re-emerged a few months ago after I started really getting into the groove of what I'm doing here, I had a choice to lean into trying again or lean out and stay committed to my goals. I had a knowing I couldn't have both, so I made the choice in favour of my calling and it was one of the toughest decisions I've ever made.
For the first time in my life I truly understood what it meant to sacrifice but it was worth it 1000%.
7. You have to be honest with yourself.
Truth is subjective; what's true for me may not be what's true for you. We are all different and that's what makes this life what it is, but while it's important to stay openminded to the fact that we all have different experiences and that there are as many beliefs as there are people (there isn't one thing - not a person, book or idea - on earth that has all the answers), we all have a personal truth we cannot deny.
“Before life purpose comes self-love. Because you must love yourself before you can love your expression of self.”
Because who I am and what I experience hasn't easily fit into the world, I've spent a lot of my life dulling my truth to convenience other people but it was only after owning my truth and opening up about my experiences that I was able to live in alignment and draw in the people who experience the world the same way. Had I not committed to MY truth and started this site and this conversation, I'd be living inauthentically and feeling as if something was missing.
8. Your purpose comes to you in steps.
Though we aren't privy to our entire story, we can always ask for the next right step. For this reason our purpose comes to us in stages. A few years ago I had an overwhelming sense I was going to write a book. I wasn't yet in a space where I honoured my own intuition so I reached out and asked an intuitive if what I was sensing was true. They replied with, "you will most definitely write a book but I can't tell you what it's going to be about because you need to grow to understand that." I forgot about this interaction until last night when I was fixing some things in my ebook. I had a moment of overwhelm when I realized I was writing a book about something I had no idea about just a few years ago when I asked for the intuitive's clarification. I wouldn't be writing this book if I didn't align with my purpose step-by-step (by taking the next right step) so I could learn the information I need to produce this product. How cool is that! Don't stress about the details, lean into the next step.
9. Your purpose is unique to you.
When I first started this site I assumed I'd be working with 20-something women who were young professionals working towards a career in social work / therapy. I actually work with doctors, business men, real-estate investors, engineers, nurses, and so many other men and women who were nowhere near my radar. "Life purpose" is a word thrown around a lot in the self-help world, especially among coaches and therapists, but life purpose isn't limited to the self-help community. We ALL have a purpose and we all have a unique combination of personality, skill-set, history, education (formal/informal/or both), pain, that comes together to set us up perfectly for the purpose we are meant to live out.
Instead of trying to fit yourself in a 'life purpose' box, challenge what it means to have a life purpose and take time to reflect on who you are and how all those beautiful parts of your being can align with the desires of your heart to build something only you can build because of who you are, what you have experienced and what you can personally do to better this world.
*Life purpose isn't always positive by the way. There are people, sometimes referred to as 'younger souls', with the purpose to cause chaos. But since you resonate with my work enough to be in this space I know you're here to do good.
10. The people you are inspired by are not random.
Without getting too esoteric, the people we are inspired by have light codes we need to level up. This is why we resonate with certain people and feel a pull to their work/being in their space. Light codes are shared on a subconscious level and are one of the reasons you just know you were meant to cross someone's path. When I started planning out this space I was obsessed with G-Eazy. He had the confidence I needed and I was inspired by his ability to use his art and business expertise to normalize topics and make it safe to talk about wanting more from life. He had an entire song about being an introvert that so creatively normalized topics and empowered people to be their true selves. Though much different, I wanted to use my art and my brain to do that too.
Pay attention to who you are inspired by. You are inspired for a reason and this reason is to out the parts of you wanting to surface.
11. Not everyone is going to get it.
And that's okay. We aren't meant for everyone and there are people who AREN'T supposed to like us. We are meant to trigger people and cause them to reflect within themselves, the same as people are meant to trigger us and cause us to reflect within ourselves.
“You will be too much for some people. Those aren’t your people.”
Choosing to talk about energy and the law of attraction is uneasy for the people in my life who aren't ready to have these conversations or do the work. It's also uncomfortable for most in the realm of social work who feel the law of attraction is a way to victim blame.
I'm showing up to talk about it anyway because my heart knows the power empowering people to be their best selves has on inspiring others to be their best selves and I know this is how true change will occur. I've been in the system and know the system doesn't work so I'm following my heart to show up a different way. I'm also showing up to talk energy and its affect on mental health and though there are many who say I'm 'crazy' I know I'm not and that the much needed shift in the way we approach mental health will only come from Intuitives and other psychiatric survivors speaking up.
Life doesn't have to be hard but it does take the difficult decision to lean into a different way of being for it to become everything it is capable of becoming for you. Life purpose is real and finding it is inevitable when you start taking the steps you are being asked to take. Living a life of peace and authenticity takes work, and it's a lie to say it's easy. But if I know anything, it's that avoiding the work in fear of discomfort isn't easier. The less we listen, the more we are uprooted because life is meant to be magical and the non-physical won't settle for your life being anything less.
Are you living your life purpose?
What obstacles are you experiencing?
x
Robin
An empath with dreams to live out? Personalized coaching to bring your visions to life.