#2 Have A Dynamic Perspective On Purpose

Conventional wisdom suggests that a well-defined long-term goal is synonymous with having a purpose. So we strive to write well-crafted goals to work towards our vision of the future. But given the topsy turvy times we live in, this approach may be very rigid. In a highly interdependent world, where a pandemic like COVID can shake everything up and technological advancements create change rapidly, your purpose needs to be more agile. 

So instead of visualizing where you see yourself 10 years from now, try to think about how you can better yourself today. Try to view your purpose as a way of life rather than a rigid long-term goal. You'll be better equipped to handle the instability of the current times by leveraging the right behavioral virtues rather than molding yourself to fit a predefined long-term goal. 

Reflect: Does your career have to be the embodiment of your passions? If you are passionate about sustainable energy, does this need to be your career, or could this be something you support in your spare time? Does the role need to be directly related to this field, or does the company need to support it? It's worth asking yourself, how much do I need to dedicate to my purpose?

#3 Work On Developing A Unique Core Competitive Advantage

We're moving towards a heterogeneous society, where people are empowered to be independent creators. Gone are the days of pursuing the dream of working in a 9 to 5 job at a multinational corporation and working your way up. You now have lots of options! 

Reid Hoffman's book, 'The Startup Of You,' talks about adapting to the future and investing in yourself. For this reason, developing a core competitive advantage is critically important to finding purpose and meaningful work. 

According to this approach, your competitive advantage lies at the intersection of your assets, your aspirations, and your market realities. 

• By assets, they mean both hard assets, like physical possessions, and soft assets, like skills, experiences, connections, and knowledge. 
• Your aspirations include your vision of the future, your goals, and dreams, Your market realities refer to what people will pay you for. 

Try to enlist these and see what comes up at their intersection! 

Your goal with this process is to uncover a unique sense of direction that fits well with your current situation and who you are. Too often, we find that people are pursuing the wrong dream because they haven't thought about themselves or where they're at, realistically. Going through this process will help you avoid this pitfall and pursue the opportunity that's perfect for you. 

 #4 Give Yourself Time, Money & A Community Of Like Minds 

Finding meaningful work, making that career transition, and investing your energy in projects that make you feel fulfilled, present and happy, all take time and money. That's why you need to make sure you have a financial cushion, the right support, and factor in time to give you the runway you need to find meaningful work. You may not come across it straight away, and it might take a lot of trial and error, experimentation, and solid support before you hit the nail on the head.

While asking questions like "What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?" or "What would you do if you had $10 Million in your bank?" can be helpful, the reality is that you need to sustain yourself and your family while you embark on the journey of finding your calling. 

We recommend you join a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate and interested in similar things to you. No doubt having a network can help you make difficult transitions in life and work. Think about it, what can you commit to right now? Maybe start with 1 day a month of volunteering and take it from there.

Wrapping it up

Follow some of the tips in this article to discover your purpose and find meaningful work. And while you're at it, try to find meaning in your current life and work too, because if you ask yourself the question 'why' enough times, you'll find that almost everything has meaning. 

The truth is that nothing is going to be pleasurable all of the time, and you may not find purpose in every single second of your time. More often than not, it's not what you do but how you do it that counts. 

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