In my last post, I suggested seven steps to take as part of the process of connecting with your purpose. The first of these was – The Answer is Within You.

Stop looking outwards for an expert to find it for you. They will never know you as well as you do. Turn your attention inwards, show courage and do an audit of your strengths and fears in order to become who you were born to be by looking within yourself.

A great first step to showing courage to be you is to connect with yourself by meditating. There are thousands of resources and teaching aids, both online and in print. 

Alongside meditation, it may help to work with a coach or even a therapist so long as they have experience in working with an effective process.

A lot of coaches base their work on self-actualisation, an approach introduced by Kurt Goldstein and developed by Maslow. Many personal development programmes base their teaching on his ‘Human Needs.’ The benefit of the approach is to accept who you are despite your limitations and any flaws. 

While it may be effective, even Maslow acknowledged that basic needs have to be met before this can happen. One of these needs is to cultivate self-acceptance and recognise that, as Arnold Beisser proposed with his paradoxical theory of change, i.e. ‘that change occurs when one becomes what he is, not when he tries to become what he is not.’ (Arnold Beisser)

Until we accept ourselves, we will struggle to progress, whether it’s Maslow’s approach, my own or any other. 

The other six steps will go towards this goal of being grounded in your purpose.

By the way, always question what anyone tells you.

So, what do you think?