Finding Purpose in Life
I was taken aback when I watched one of my favorite series on Netflix ‘Vikings’. I didn’t expect to discover answers about finding purpose in life.
Some things happen in Vikings that are horrific and so many things happen in this series that are the essence of love, connection and contribution. I can imagine that this series might be challenging to look through, if you just focus on the horror of it.
Feeling defeated
In one of the last episodes a remark was made that since has affected me. At a certain stage after (once again) the most unexpected defeat of the main characters in the series, King Bjorn wants to give up on all of it. He feels defeated by his choices. Betrayed by his companions. Isolated by the loss of his mother. In fear of what is about to come when his brother Ivar seems to prepare for an assault together with Russian troops.
Bjorn gets a vision or hallucination. Whatever you want to call it, he sees the druid that advised his legendary father Ragnar when he was still alive. In this vision he explains that he is in despair. Hopeless. He does not know what to do anymore. He has lost his purpose, direction and for the first time he wants to give up, on life…
The druid makes one remark and one remark only. He says, “If you haven’t found your purpose yet then maybe your purpose is beyond the end you had in mind.”
That remark startled me. And even this coming from a series on television it still created a profound revelation within myself.
Predicting your future
What if your troubles are related to a time constraint you ‘other-than-consciously’ set for yourself? Just imagine how our minds works. We are in, let’s say, the perfect relationship. Our other-than-conscious mind connects all kinds of predictions to that. You might predict that this person is here forever, and that this person will never betray your bond. You might predict that your lover has the same understanding you have about life and all it entails.
“If you haven’t found your purpose yet then maybe your purpose is beyond the end you had in mind.”
So, what if all these wonderful expectations create a sense of mission, an understanding about what your purpose is supposed to be? All of these experiences are then collected within this concept of purpose you have in mind.
When your purpose changes
The same happened to, then, prince Bjorn. He was not expecting to be king and his purpose seemed to be roaming around the Mediterranean until his mother gave up her throne and Bjorn became King of Kattegat. This transition changed his purpose. But what came after changed his purpose even more profoundly…
So, what if our life experiences, other-than-consciously, prime us to create certain expectations? Expectations about what is about to come. About what is going to happen next. And about what contributes to the life purpose you hold in mind?
A vision beyond the end you had in mind
Let’s get back to Bjorn who thought he had everything going for him. He became king, his mother was still alive, and most people loved him. He was honest and full of integrity.
Until that moment, when so much betrayal happened, he (almost) gave up and wanted to die himself. Then in his deepest moment of despair he had a vision. A vision of the druid that informed his father. And that druid just said one thing:
“If you haven’t found your purpose yet then maybe your purpose is beyond the end you had in mind”
Your purpose is related to the timeframe you have in mind
These fictional words of a fictional series struck me. They hold profound meaning when you think about it. What if the stress you experience, the sorrow or pain you experience is based upon the fact that you have attributed all your meaning making to that experience? I mean what if your other-than-conscious mind is doing all it can to produce the most wonderful outcome you have in mind even if all the signs tell you it’s not happening…
Getting un-stuck
If that is so, then what if you just and only just need to re-examine the timeframe you unconsciously held in mind? What if you were able to think beyond ‘the end you had in mind’ to find your (real) purpose?
You might want to ask yourself: “What ‘ends’ am I (unconsciously) holding in mind?” To what relationship, situation, circumstance or timeframe are you measuring your purpose in life? What would happen if you would look beyond that? Beyond the end you had in mind?
Curious?
Are you curious to learn about how ‘prediction’, ‘purpose’ and ‘vision’ are intertwined? Would you like to find your purpose in life? Would you like to find your purpose in work? You might want to read Leadership is about emotional regulation (in Dutch). Or would you like to personally align your prediction about life and your relationships? Join the RETeC Foundation training. A new method to change other-than-conscious predictions and feelings.
Coaching
Contact me to find your purpose or go straight to:
- Life Coaching
- Business Coaching and apply for a one on one session. See you soon!
Wassili Zafiris
