Do you know why you need to determine your purpose first? (Part 2)

In the last post, we talked about the need to determine our purpose first as it is our reason for waking up every morning. We also mentioned there are a number of ways to figure it out, but I’d like us to follow our “SHAPE”. Let’s dive into what SHAPE is.

S – Strength

• What are your strengths? 
• What are you gifted to do? 
• What do you naturally do better than others?

H – Heart

• What is your heart leading you? 
• What passions do you have? 
• What issues do you care about most? Is it the environmental problems? Is it social injustice? Is it human trafficking?

A – Abilities

• What are your abilities? 
• What are you good at doing? 
• What did you learn that you excel at?

P – Personality

• How are you wired to navigate life?

E – Experience

• Where have you been in your life? 
• What have you learned?

Once we understand our SHAPE, it’s easier to determine our WHY.

NASA, in the early 60’s asked Dr. George Lands to do just that, Find not only the SHAPE of an astronaut but develop a test that proves that we’re putting a GENIUS in orbit.  Dr. Lands developed an assessment, however, he did something interesting. He gave it to preschoolers. How do you think the preschoolers scored? They almost aced it! Yet those same 1600 preschoolers only scored 11% by the time they were 15. And another test group in their 30’s score……2%. Why is that? Why did their SHAPE go away?

If you would allow me, I would say, they “got fat”! They ate their SHAPE away! What do I mean by that? As we grow older, we are being “educated” and conditioned. We are taught the rules and processes to follow. We bought in on other people’s thoughts, and what other people think of us. As time goes on, we get fat with other people’s ideas, other people’s opinions and what other people say we should do. We need to trim the fat. Other people are not you. They do not have your abilities nor your exact personality. They do not have the combination of your SHAPE.

So, what’s your SHAPE? What’s the Genius that you’ve been hiding for years. Take some time to ponder those questions. The answers will help you understand your SHAPE. That would help you determine your WHY. If you would like help to determine your WHY, reach out to me for a free online consultation.

(This blog is co-written with Stan Gibson)