It is well documented that people who feel like they are following their life’s purpose tend to experience higher levels of mental health, despite their ancestral inheritance. Many people are not aware that a life lesson experience can be a major guidepost to place them in the direction of their life’s purpose – the mission they came here on Earth to fulfill. Even if the experience is very painful, it can be designed to help you.
Let’s take Erica, for example. She is working hard to accomplish her goals, thinking of her future, and wanting to leave the best for her children and future grandchildren. She grew up very poor and never wants herself, nor those coming after her in her family life, to have to experience poverty again. She stays up late at night studying to get an education and she works long hours to finish jobs, make money, and feel accomplished. All this sounds pretty reasonable, right?
However, Erica is not feeling fulfilled and cannot rid herself of a sense of emptiness. Most of her time is spent working. The depth of her relationships with others is just not there. It is clear she is not fulfilling her life’s mission and she is not in alignment with her soul’s purpose. Suppose Erica's main purpose is to realize the importance of authentic connection in relationships to transcend past generational wounds? Given the abundance of psychological research on the importance of human connectivity and attunement with the energy fields of others to maintain flow and happiness, Erica has actually ‘won the jackpot’ when she gains this insight and places her energy in authentic relationships. She not only changes the quality of her life, but those she interacts with. What’s interesting is if this change in direction is genuinely part of her life’s purpose, the security she is looking for will present itself.
Another example is Michelle. Michelle is a 35-year-old, married accountant who desperately wants to get pregnant. Over the past 10 years, she and her husband have taken every measure possible to make this happen, but to no avail. Michelle became more and more depressed with each passing month. Reluctantly, she became a Big Sister to help ease her distress of not being able to have her own child. Over time her heart still ached, and she became acutely aware of the sense of meaningfulness that children bring to the lives of others. Michelle decides to relocate to Africa where children really need her. She becomes a full-time volunteer, contributing her time and talents while working with small children in an orphanage. Despite some days being very challenging, she feels a sense of connection and fulfillment that she has never experienced before. People tell her she looks radiant. It is through this never-ending flow of human energy between her and the children that so desperately need her. It seems that not being able to have children may have actually led her to her life’s purpose.
In my own life, I was fired from several jobs in a row. This was after I had attained my doctorate in psychology, and I was never given a real reason for why I was let go. Despite the financial distress from this, little did I know at the time that this was a blessing in disguise. The organizations that I worked for were incredibly toxic and stressful and would have had an incredible impact on my health over time. This experience led me to establish Nickerson Institute of Integrative Health Training and be a part of educating others on the necessity of holistic mental health practices. Sometimes we see the guidance towards our purpose in retrospect.
When we are in alignment with our life’s purpose, we feel a deep inner sense of contentment and knowing, while being in alignment with our spirit, higher self, God, or purpose. We feel safe and whole.
Are there any experiences in your life that seem to be reoccurring? What are they — trust, money, family, love? How might this experience possibly be related to your life’s purpose?
