*NEWS* OUTCOME , PURPOSE , AND ACTION

[Anonymous]

OUTCOME, PURPOSE, AND ACTION

“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”  -Robert Byrne According to success guru Tony Robbins, the three key components to living a life of purpose are the goals you set, the actions you take, and an awareness of the higher purpose behind everything you do. Here are three ways in which I have used Robbins key components to great effect in my own life and with my clients. 1. To-Do Lists: Action, Outcome, Purpose We can instantly make our ‘to do’ lists a thousand times more compelling by connecting each action on the list to both the specific outcome it is designed to achieve and the more general purpose it is moving you towards. For example, let’s say my to-do list contains the following three items: * File my receipts * Prepare for the radio show * Workout When I expand my list using the three categories, it becomes: Action –  File my receipts Outcome – Completely up to date with tax-info for 2005 Purpose – To be financially independent within the next 5 years Action –  Prepare for the radio show Outcome – Do a great interview Purpose – To assist people in living the lives of their dreams Action –  Workout Outcome – To maintain and enhance my current fitness levels Purpose – To live each day filled with energy and vitality In the context of their outcome and purpose, each task now has greater meaning and is easier to approach with enthusiasm and passion. 2. Goal Lists: Outcome, Purpose, Action Having written goals is often talked about as one of the fundamental keys to success in any endeavour.  But if those goals are not connected with purpose and action, they will often fail to unlock our full capacity for passion and power. Here are a couple of items on one of my clients’ list of desired outcomes: * Buy a beachfront property somewhere exotic * Meet someone I’d like to spend the rest of my life with Now, here’s what they looked like when we expanded them out using Outcome, Purpose, and Action: Outcome – Earn 3 million pounds/Euros/dollars in 2005 Purpose – To live a life of ease Action(s) – Work between 4 and 6 hours a day on my business, Explore retirement options, Research long-term investment opportunities Outcome – Meet someone I’d like to spend the rest of my life with Purpose – To live a life filled with love and create a family Action(s) – Work on loving myself first, Read ‘Attracting Genuine Love’, Get into great physical condition. By clarifying the purpose behind each goal, my client was able to choose actions that were not only going to move them towards the goals but were also already aligned with the higher purpose behind those goals. 3. A Purpose-full Life: Purpose, Action, Outcome What if you are already very aware of your purpose in life?  Here’s how it works: Purpose – To love, to serve, and to give of my abundance Action/Outcome – Spend the afternoon with my family/Create a loving home Action/Outcome – Volunteer at my local church or community centre/To become more connected to my community. Action/Outcome – donate 10% of my February income to the Tsunami relief fund/Experience my abundance more fully. By focusing on the actions you can take to manifest your purpose and the outcomes you intend for those actions to engender, you translate a worthy purpose into a worthwhile life. ========================================== Bonus Tip: The Purpose of Asking ‘Why?’ ========================================== Why are you reading this tip? Take a few moments to really think about your answer before reading on. Have you come up with at least one answer yet? Chances are, that answer began with either the word “because” or some variation of the phrase “in order to”.  Which word or phrase you used is actually a key indicator of how on purpose you are in your life at this moment. In fact, every time you find yourself faced with the question ‘why?’, there are essentially two different directions you can go in… 1. “Because.” Sociologist Robert Cialdini discovered that when his researchers made an unreasonable request (for example, asking to cut in front of a long line at the bank on a Friday afternoon), people responded far more favourably if the request included the word ‘because’ (e.g. “Could I cut in front of you, because I’m in a bit of a hurry”). This is because the word ‘because’ invariably precedes explanations, reasons, and justifications.  While that’s a useful thing to remember the next time you’re asking for a raise, time off from work, or a second chance in a relationship, it’s considerably less useful when you want the experience of living your life on purpose. If you think that you do anything ‘because’ of anything else, you are making that other thing the cause of your action, and putting your action, yourself or your life at the effect of that cause. For example, if you are reading this tip ‘because you’re bored’, the feeling of boredom is the apparent cause and reading the tip is the effect.  2. “In order to.” When, on the other hand, you answer a ‘why’ question with the words ‘in order to’, you have entered into a very different relationship with your subject matter.  You are now the cause, and the only question is ‘for what purpose?’ For example, if you are reading this tip ‘in order to inspire yourself to live the life of your dreams’, you are the cause, inspiring yourself and living your dreams is your purpose, and reading the tip is a means to that end (and an excellent choice, if I may say so. 🙂 Today’s Experiment: 1. Experiment with each of the 3 patterns in today’s tip.  Notice which one makes the most immediate impact to your experience of living ‘on purpose’. 2. Several times throughout the day, ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing.  Be sure to begin your answer with a phrase like “in order to”, “so that”, or “for the purpose of”.  If you decide that your activity is purposeless, stop doing it! 3. If the activity seems purposeless but you can’t or won’t stop doing it, ask yourself why you COULD choose to do it.  When you’ve generated at least three possible purposes, choose the one which feels most inspiring to you. Have fun (in order to) learn heaps (so that)you can live a life of purpose!

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March 14, 2005 at 9:40 AM