Ever felt hassled? Overwhelmed? Confused? Unable to make a decision? Caught up in events moving too fast for you?

Of course, we’ve all felt like this. And at these times we don’t feel we have time to go off into a darkened room and meditate for 5 minutes – even if we remember that that could be a very valuable option!

When I get caught up in events I can forget why I am in that situation in the first place. I end up following other people’s agendas, even living other people’s lives! I start a conversation to explore strategies and end up trying to win an argument … I accept a meeting invitation and spend 50 minutes of the hour wondering why I’m sitting there … I start out wanting to help my parent or child and end up in an fight. Aaagh – how does that happen?

It happens when I forget my purpose, when I get distracted.

At such times, there is one simple questions I can ask myself that makes all the difference:

“What is my Purpose here?”

Your purpose is the keel of your boat. It is the keel that keeps your boat upright, however strong the storm about you, and that ensures that wherever the wind is coming from it is translated to forward movement – enabling you to keep going in your chosen direction.

Your purpose is your magnet, that instantly brings a pattern to the confusion and bewildering complexity around you, enabling you to see your path through.

This question – “What is my purpose here/now” – works at all levels, from “What is my purpose in having this conversation?” and “What am I in this meeting for?” all the way to “What is my purpose for this day/ this month/ this year/ this life?”.

My colleague Nigel Linacre asks people “are you here to make the world a worse place, to have no impact on the world or to make it a better place?” Everyone puts their hand up for the third option. No one goes to work wanting to fail. No one gets up every day consciously determined to have a miserable time. We all want to be successful, to perform well, to fulfill ourselves.

We all know, deep down, that we are all unique human beings and that the purpose of the time we have on this wonderful planet is to real-ise – to make real – that uniqueness and contribute it to the greater good. This purpose can be fulfilled in every action, in every conversation, in every meeting – every day, every year … The deeper and more firmly I am linked with my purpose, the more aligned I will be at all these levels, at all these times …

What was your purpose in reading this blog?