How do you know when you have a purpose?

Did you know that to succeed at anything you need to have a purpose?

One thing when people come to PhotoReading they often have the goal of reading even more. Great as that is it doesn’t provide a purpose for learning PhotoReading.

When one sets out to learn PhotoReading they often have the magical image of themselves zooming through book, being great scholars, getting straight A , top of the class, on the ball, best employee and similar images. The problem is those images don’t sustain the motivation. They do create impatience, frustration, self criticism and self doubt. Because the minds first reaction is, ’if you could do that, why haven’t you done it already?’

The image is a goal not a purpose.

But why is a purpose important?

The way the mind works. You now have expectations that instantly you’re going to “know exactly what to do” and you’ll be a PhotoReading “master” by the end of the day. And when it doesn’t work ’exactly’ as you pictured it the master of negative self talk (the conscious mind) steps in and negates everything and throws the baby out with the bathwater (cliché I know). You stay on the merry-go-round until someone or something helps you clarify what you want, what your purpose is and that helps you step off on the right platform.

What is purpose really?

In brief, it’s an explanation of why you are doing something. I’m doing this so that I can XZY. It explains your motivation. If you lack motivation you need to find a purpose for action.

Lets look at purpose another way

Lets use a map. You are here. ( a big dot next to an arrow) Your destination (goal) is the X that marks the spot. Before you can reach that X you must collect certain items along the way. You look at a map and considering the many options and variable decide on a path that suits your need and allows you to obtain what you need at your destination. The path you chose serves a purpose. And if you had to explain it to anyone you would say, “I am taking this path so that I can collect that.” There may be more items to collect along the way to your destination (goal). So your journey may have many paths but each path has a purpose.

Purpose for PhotoReading.

I’m reading this book so that I can ….. which is part of my journey to my ultimate goal.

Purpose helps you to define what you want and the next step is to let go and just do it and see what happens.

Just try it and see and if it doesn’t work check what was your purpose. Do you need to refine that? Was it a purpose or just a fancy statement?

Purpose is the essence of motivation. If you don’t know where you’re going how will you know when you get there? And if you don’t know where you are going why even bother starting?

© Alex K Viefhaus