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Dear Kiantha: Focus less on measuring impact and more on planting the seeds
Dear Kiantha,
I want to be impactful during my time on earth and I’m not exactly sure what that means or how to do it. How do I find purpose, and how do I make sure my purpose is impactful?
Dear Friend,
The best part of my day today is taking time to think critically about your questions of purpose and impact. I would like to share with you a few lessons I have learned along my journey of self-discovery and purpose.
First and foremost, purpose is plural. I believe that all of us have multiple purposes to engage with during our time on earth. For people like me, purpose looks like a life of singular actions, conversations and interactions that impact the lives of those I encounter, ideally for the better.
Secondly, purpose is personal. Purpose is birthed out of our individual experiences. Purpose will look different for each person. One way in which purpose can be identified is through being mindful of the experiences we have that tether our hearts to a desire to improve circumstances around that experience for others.
Purpose is a demonstration. When we act on the opportunities to dig deeper into our personal interactions (be they with people, places or things) over the course of a lifetime, this becomes our life’s work.
Lastly, purpose always serves to the betterment of others, hence resulting in impact.
The notion of measuring the impact of our purpose is complicated. A life of purpose really is gauged by both measurable and nonquantifiable experiences which can mean that our personal impact during our time on earth can be hard or impossible to assess.
I would also suggest being less concerned about measuring personal impact as our ego is what needs the measurement. In other words, don’t focus on the score. Plant the seeds (take the shots) over and over again.
Soul to soul,
Kiantha
Dear Kiantha can be read Fridays in The Spokesman-Review. To submit a question, email DearKiantha@gmail.com. To read this column in Spanish, visit spokesman.com.