Engineering A Core Purpose in Times of Uncertainty

Core Purpose

Many times, authors begin writing from the periphery and work in from there. I'm gonna do the opposite and start at the heart of the matter; our Core Purpose.

Our core purpose is simply that overarching theme that we want to live our life by and how we want others to see us and define us. Please don't get me wrong, I realize we are many things to different people in the right way, not in a deceitful manner. I mean, just think of a mother. She's the bedrock, lover, caretaker, comforter and so on. But in the end, what is the key way your life defined. That's kind of important.

Also important is to not attempt to be defined in an unrealistic manner. You understand this because we see it everyday in other people as they clearly try to be something they can never be.

So what does a good core purpose look like? Well, the easy answer is whatever you want it to look like. Yes, it's yours and you make it yours by authoring it after thinking about it. It can be a simple statement like..."To be a great Mother" and "To provide comfort and joy to the destitute." I myself use this core purpose..."To be there when needed most and help others understand how important and valuable they are." Or you can write a dissertation for yourself. Like I stated earlier, it's yours...you can't go wrong.

Yes, your core purpose is about today. But it probably needs to be more about your tomorrow. Your core purpose makes you aim high and keeps you focused into the future days, weeks, and years. As you grow and mature, revisit your core purpose and feel empowered to adjust and/or change it.

Core Values

To support our core purpose we need a compass...core values which help to guide our actions toward our purpose.

Core values are a set of fundamental beliefs, ideals, or practices that inform you on how you will conduct your life, both personally and professionally. Organizations can also have and maintain core values. Many of us have worked or presently work for such organizations.

One should determine their top values based on their experiences, level of joy and happiness, pride, and fulfillment. Based on this, aim for your top 5 values that best define you. Now, I'm using five but like your core purpose, you can choose as many values as you want. But like any good drink, you may very well water down your values if you choose too many. You'll have to carry a checklist just to remember them. So, be mindful of what's important and choose those values most natural to you. You'll be amazed that you're already living up to a number of them.

As I was going through this life exercise, I chose the following core values: perseverance, gratitude, hopefulness, humility, leadership. These are core values that help guide my actions to make my core purpose manifest itself.

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Behaviors

So far we've talked the talk. While values are abstract, our behaviors are concrete

I can tell you my core purpose and my core values. But you and I know that they are meaningless unless I can actually behave in a manner that serves those important values. We're gonna discuss walking the talk.

Our behaviors are the outward expressions of our values. Our level of hypocrisy is measured by how well our behavior aligns with our values. There's a bit of a warning here for all of us. Am I defeated if I fail to live up to my values by exhibiting a behavior that does not align with my values? Well, yes, temporarily. This is part of the human condition. What's important is to learn from it and create parameters that help us all behave in a better manner that is not anti-social in any degree.

Behaviors are important in society. Those individuals that can best adhere to positive behaviors such as attention to detail, focus, innovative, etc., become valuable to the organizations they serve within and will receive greater responsibility faster than others.

As I went through this exercise, I chose 5 key behaviors I needed to practice and exhibit daily to live up to my values and achieve my purpose. They are:

1) Stay committed especially when facing difficulties;

2) Be thankful to God and those around me;

3) Expect good things for others;

4) Expect others to teach me something; and

5) Be there day to day...be consistent.

In the end, we want our core values to drive our behavior in a positive manner to achieve an important outcome...the core purpose for our life.

© 2020 Fernando Guadalupe Jr