Power vs. Outcome: The Unlimited Potential of a Purpose-Driven Life
What I wish to convey here is the idea of developing a clear understanding of what drives your actions. It is immensely important that you, first and foremost, have a lucid perspicacity of why you’re doing something. When you understand why you’re doing something that “why” or your “purpose” that will drive or push you through the difficulties that you will inevitably face —driving you through the challenges, driving you through all of the obstacles that you’re going to face as you move through life. When you have a sense of why you’re doing something you will possess a clarity of the motive. The motivation revealed in your “WHY,” as I call it, will be so strong that the momentum will literally carry you through even the darkest of situations and circumstances.
When you are certain of your “why” and your “why” is so huge that it will be bigger than any moment that you will ever face, you will develop a sense of certainty that is inextricably connected to your destiny that assures you that you will accomplish everything that you have set out to do. You’re going to be successful because when you arrive at these difficult moments you are going to be able to push through them because you going to look at it and your “why,” your purpose is going to be bigger than the pain that you are experiencing at any given moment.
Your “why” is going to be greater than the delay that will sometimes stand in your way. Your “why” is going to be greater than the complex nature of the enigmatic issues that you have to solve to keep moving.
You will consistently find yourself facing challenges but you will find out how to overcome them each and every time when you understand your “why!” When you truly invest in understanding the reason why you are driven to do something — your purpose — when you are determined to become committed to living in that purpose, then anything you face in life will be engaged with the confidence of knowing that you are built for the battle.
When you are driven by purpose, all of the answers to the problems to the problems you will inevitably face will be there and if they’re not there you will create them. Successful people wake up in the morning and they are not looking for someone to do something for them They understand that if there is an opportunity out there they will find it. When successful people wake up in the morning looking for that opportunity that they need to advance their dreams, their causes, their campaigns, and their desires, there is a sense of urgency in finding what they are looking for and they refuse to give up until they find it. If they can’t find it, they have such relentless tenacity associated with what they are doing and the reason why they are doing it that they decide to create the opportunity that they need.
One thing that I learned over the course of my life and that nothing happens in a vacuum. The Universal Law of Cause and Effect are always in play. There are no insignificant moments and there are no coincidences; everything has a cause and everything has a cost. When you understand the cause, you understand where the effect came from and you can now either repeat the cause if you like the effect or change the cause if you desire a different effect. You possess the power to disrupt and change the cause if you don’t like what it is producing. You are never stuck in any situation. Reality is a dynamic force, meaning that it is in constant motion — being shifted by the influences and perceptions of those experiencing it.
When you are driven by the outcome you desire, the outcome becomes the most important thing in your life and you risk losing sight of your purpose. More importantly, you risk getting caught up in the chase, which can lead to an abandonment of core values for the sake of achieving the goal. There is nothing inherently wrong with goals, but goals must always remain in the context in order to protect your character — the ultimate reflection of your value system. When you are purpose driven, you are still headed in the same direction, but you are being driven by something with greater purity, your purpose. When I first decided to allow my purpose to drive me instead of the outcomes I was looking for, I took on a mindset that declared, I’m going to start moving in the same direction accomplishing the same things but instead of being focused on myself, I am going to focus on serving and helping others.
What I found when I shifted my paradigms is that I still achieved the desired outcomes, but there was a greater sense of fulfillment and accomplishment because I was making others around me better in the process. You are in control of your destiny, you are the master of your fate, you are the one that has been given the reigns of the direction you are taking a life. There will be all types of external influences that move against you as you progress through life. There will be all types of things that you’re going to encounter, but you have the ability to discern, evaluate, and interpret what these influences and impulses mean and to determine how you will respond to them. They will not control you; you will control them.
When you are purpose-driven, your purpose is immediately, directly, and intimately connected to your identity. What you identify with impacts what you believe, the manner in which you operate and function, and what you do when you face adversity, disappointment, disruption, and delay. When you have a clear sense of what it is you are here for and how you are going to make the world better, you will develop the capacity to effectively engage adversity in a manner that produces consistent and efficacious results.
When you truly understand your purpose, you will immediately abandon the idea that someone owes you something, and you will stop expecting others to do for you what you have the power and gifting to do for yourself. When you start looking inside, you will immediately feel the weight of frustration and disappointment lifted. When you stop placing making other culpable for your current state and embrace your power and capacity to determine your own course and state of existence, a huge weight will be lifted.
As you start to embrace the idea that you are here to offer the world something that will leave it in a better situation than you found it and you consistent look to add value to others, you not only make your situation better, but you make everyone in your periphery better as well.
The awesome idea of purpose is that it is connected to your identity, which reveals that you are a part of a design and if you are a part of design then there is a specific reason that you are here. It further reveals that because you are here for a reason, the provision for the fulfillment of your purpose is at your disposal — you only need to access it and activate it.
When you become aware of your purpose in life, you don’t become frenetic and unglued when things seem out of place or you encounter certain challenges. Your ability to identify with your purpose assures you that if you simply persevere while remaining true to your purpose what you are seeking will manifest itself in time. For this reason, I am able to experience the delay without experiencing discouragement. When you become determined to operate in your purpose, you will find that all of the “outcomes” you are seeking in life will automatically fall in line when you stop worrying about the outcome and start living inline with your purpose. ~ Rick Wallace, Ph.D., Psy.D.
To book Dr. Wallace for speaking engagements, seminars, lectures and one-on-one counseling, email: LifeChange@rickwallacephd.link
