Action Is Exploration

 

A lot of people spend years waiting for a sign that will tell them what their purpose is.

They wait for some sudden realization. They hope that one day everything will become clear and they will simply know what they are supposed to do with their lives.

Sometimes clarity does come that way. But often, purpose isn't something you discover while standing still.

Sometimes you have to move.

Action can be a form of exploration.

You don't necessarily need to know where an action will lead before you take it. You don't even need to know whether it will become an important part of your life. You can simply choose something that seems worthwhile and see where it takes you.

Volunteer for a charity. Participate in a church function. Attend an event. Join an organization. Take a class. Help with a community project. Try something creative. Learn a skill you've always been curious about.

The particular action matters less than your willingness to explore.

You Don't Know What You Haven't Experienced

It's difficult to know whether you have a passion for something you've never tried.

You might discover that you love working with children because you volunteered to help at an event. You might discover that you're good at organizing people because somebody needed help coordinating a project. You might discover an ability to teach because someone asked you to explain something.

These discoveries don't always begin with grand ambitions.

Sometimes they begin with, "Sure. I'll give it a try."

That's one of the reasons action is so valuable. Action creates experiences, and experiences give you information about yourself.

You learn what energizes you. You learn what drains you. You discover what you're good at, what you need to improve, and what kinds of problems you enjoy solving.

Even discovering that something isn't for you has value. You've eliminated one possibility and learned something about yourself in the process.

Other People May See Something You Don't

Exploration also brings you into contact with other people.

That matters because sometimes other people recognize strengths in us that we don't recognize in ourselves.

Maybe you've always thought of yourself as an ordinary person who simply likes helping people. Someone else may notice that people naturally come to you when they need advice.

Maybe you volunteer for a small task and someone notices that you're unusually good at organizing things.

Maybe someone hears you speak and says, "You should teach."

Maybe someone sees something you've created and tells you that you have a talent you've never taken seriously.

That doesn't mean every compliment reveals your life's purpose. But patterns are worth noticing.

When different people repeatedly recognize the same quality in you, perhaps they're seeing something you have overlooked.

Exploration Doesn't Have to Happen in Person

Today, exploration isn't limited to what happens in your local community.

There are opportunities everywhere online.

Join groups built around subjects that interest you. Participate in discussions. Share what you know. Ask questions. Meet people. Learn from people who have experiences completely different from yours.

And don't participate only because you're hoping someone will do something for you.

Look for opportunities to contribute.

If someone creates something you genuinely enjoy, tell them.

Be the person who leaves the comment saying, "You did a great job on this."

Encourage someone who is struggling. Congratulate someone who accomplished something. Answer a question when you know the answer. Share useful information when you have it.

You never know what you might discover about yourself in the process.

Maybe one of your strengths is encouragement.

Maybe you have an unusual ability to make people feel noticed when everyone else seems to overlook them.

Maybe your words give someone the confidence to keep going.

We sometimes imagine purpose as something impressive and highly visible. But purpose doesn't necessarily require a stage, a title, a large audience, or recognition.

Sometimes your contribution is simply being the person who encourages someone else at exactly the moment they need it.

One Action Can Lead to Another

The interesting thing about exploration is that you rarely know where it will lead.

You volunteer somewhere and meet someone.

That person introduces you to someone else.

You discover an organization you didn't know existed.

Someone asks whether you can help with something.

You try it.

You discover you're good at it.

That leads somewhere else.

None of it was part of some carefully designed master plan. The path became visible because you started walking.

That's why waiting for absolute certainty can become a trap.

You may be waiting for a sign pointing toward a road that you can only see after you start moving.

Don't Wait for the Entire Map

You don't have to determine your entire life's purpose today.

Pick an action.

Try something.

Volunteer. Participate. Create. Learn. Help. Encourage. Connect.

Then pay attention.

What did you enjoy?

What did you learn?

Who did you meet?

What did other people notice about you?

Did the experience reveal another opportunity?

Did it make you curious about something else?

Then take another action.

Purpose doesn't always arrive as a revelation.

Sometimes it emerges gradually from a collection of experiences, relationships, discoveries, successes, failures, and unexpected opportunities.

You don't always find your path and then start walking.

Sometimes walking is how you find the path.

Bob Craypoe
Founder of Craypoe Productions® and Daydream Warrior