" Until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority, the bark of thought is allowed to drift upon the ocean of life. A man or woman should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it."
James Allen

Is you life on purpose? Does just the question stop you in your track as it does many people? Have you been so caught up in the frenetic pace of today's consumeristic culture that you've not dared wonder if your life is going in the right direction?

Perhaps you feel a little like Alice in Wonderland when she was taken on a wild ride through the countryside by the Red Queen? No matter how fast Alice ran she couldn't seem to get anywhere. Finally, breathless from her efforts, the Queen allowed her to rest long enough for Alice to comment that "Everything is just as it was!" to which the Queen replied, "...here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!"

If this sounds like one of your typical days or weeks, or your whole life for that matter, then it's times to jump from the not so merry-go-round and re-evaluate a few of your priorities. Responding to the following statements will give you a good starting point. Grade yourself on a scale from 1 to 10.

1. I am crystal clear what my life purpose is.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree

Of course, to live a life on purpose starts with knowing what your purpose is. If you aren't sure, then that's where to start. Don't feel bad if you aren't clear. According to Cynthia Kersey in her book, Unstoppable (http://www.unstoppable.net), when psychologist, William Marsten, asked 3,000 people the question, "What have you to live for?" 94 percent said they had no definite purpose for their lives -- 94 percent! That leaves only 6 percent of us who know why we're here. No wonder we're not a particularly happy society.

2. The life I lead is a full expression of my life purpose.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree

Knowing your purpose is really only the start. About a quarter of the people who request my services as a life purpose coach feel they know their purpose but also realize that their life doesn't reflect it. In other words, they aren't living true to it.
3. I live a values-based life rather than a materialistic-based life.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree

Many Americans have sold out their values for the Great American Dream forced down our throats by Madison Avenue advertising. Luckily, we're starting to realize the dream is actually a nightmare, but with hundreds of exposures to advertising every week, living a value-based life can make you feel like a salmon swimming up stream.

4. My life is free of unnecessary clutter and complexities and I seldom feel overwhelmed, rushed or cluttered.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree

More people give themselves a lower rating with this statement than anywhere else. It appears many of other or choking on our own clutter. If you don't believe it, look around your own neighborhood. How many new self-storage businesses have opened up in the last five years. In the small mountain community where I live there's been at least two new ones, and their businesses are flourishing.

5. I regularly take time to nurture myself in ways that feed my soul.
Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Agree

A big issue for many people. Some of my clients are so driven that the concept of taking even 15 minutes for themselves to just sit and do nothing but breath and relax is almost inconceivable. Taking an entire evening to just nurture oneself is beyond comprehension for most.

How did you do on the sample test? Or did you feel you didn't have the time to take it right now because you need to get on to more important stuff. Wake up Alice! Nothing is more important than identifying your purpose and living true to it. It's just so easy to drift through life like a cork thrown by the currents of circumstances, back and forth, living what Thoreau describes as "lives of quiet desparation."

The good news is that it's not too late. It is possible to start living on purpose immediately, even before you clearly know your purpose. Because even asking the questions, "who am I and what is my life for?" begins to shape your life into a new direction. It all starts when you ask the questions. "Seek and you will find. Ask and it will be given unto you."
Start asking today. For a more in depth, FREE evaluation of how on purpose your life is, take the Life On Purpose Self Test at http://www.lifeonpurpose.com and earn a complimentary life purpose coaching session.

© W. Bradford Swift 1999

The End

W. Bradford Swift is director of Life On Purpose Institute -- an organization dedicated to people clarifying their life purpose and living true to it -- where he is a coach, writer and trainer for other coaches. Hundreds of his articles have appeared in such diverse publications as Modern Maturity, Hope, New Age Journal, Yoga Journal, and many others. He may be contacted by email: brad@lifeonpurpose.com; by phone: 1-800-668-0183; or visit the Life On Purpose Institute website: http://www.lifeonpurpose.com. For a FREE subscription to Purposeful Pondering Ezine, send an email to PurposefulPondering-subscribe@one-list.com.