Let’s pick up our conversation where we paused last time-
- Why are you on this planet? What is the mission of your life?
- How will this world be a better place after you are gone?
- What special gift must you share with the world before you leave?
- What profound lesson must you learn before you find your gift?
- What unique journey must you undertake before you learn your lesson?
- Why does any of this really matter?
Let me tackle the last question first – ‘Why does any of this really matter?’
Three reasons – financial, emotional and spiritual…
- Financial – You are trying to get that job, promotion or customer and the questions that keep coming up are – “Why YOU? What makes YOU different from all the others? What do you have to offer that others don’t?”
- Emotional – At the end of the day or week of work, you don’t have much left to give to yourself or your loved ones.
- Spiritual – You are going through the motions in life, but don’t have the sense of fulfillment you wanted.
Answering these questions will help you gain some powerful insights and make a positive impact on all three areas listed above.
In my previous blog, I introduced some key lessons from the first five pages of the book ‘Awakening the Heroes Within’, by Carol S. Pearson. Here are some other things I learned as I continued reading…
The questions I listed at the start of my blog might make many of us uncomfortable. We are so conditioned to focus on external goals and measures, that our inner world is like an ‘undiscovered country’. The more unfamiliar we are with this country, the more we fear and resist any attempts to make us explore it. So, we need some help with this journey, and Carol introduces Archetypes as a model to guide us.
An Archetype is a model or pattern of a person that is universally recognizable. Archetypes are symbols found in eternal myths, stories, songs and art. Think of the three stories you find most inspiring and ask yourself what they have in common? Chances are that they have some familiar archetypes – like a hero or heroine, who overcomes significant odds to defeat an evil dragon and recover a precious treasure. Along the way, perhaps, there was a funny ally or a jester who kept things light, an advisor or a sage who provided counsel in times of need and a lover who was waiting with open arms at the triumphant return. These are just some of the familiar Archetypes passed down to us over the ages through stories, art and religion. You can find some others on Carol’s site.
Consider for a moment that each one of us is a hero or heroine on a special mission to find a treasure that only we can share with the world. Each one of us experiences this journey in a very unique way, through the forms of an Archetype. At different stages of our journey, different Archetypes might be active in our lives. However, to have a balanced life, we must be able to integrate and invoke the appropriate Archetype at the appropriate time.
At any given time, however, there might be a particular archetype that clearly calls you and assigns you the mission of that stage of your life. Answering that call will lead to a fulfilling journey of discovery and suppressing it will lead to misery and dissatisfaction. But where do you start? How do you find which Archetype most accurately reflects your calling at this stage of your life’s journey?
You could start by finding a list of the 12 fundamental archetypes on Carol’s site and see which one calls you the most today. You can also take the quick, 20 minute PMAI Online Assessment to get a customized report on which archetypes are currently active in your life and which others you may need to develop to meet your life goals.
OK, so now you are familiar with the model of Archetypes, and you know which Archetype is calling you at this stage of your life. How do you apply this model and design a life that allows you to answer calling and integrates your outer and inner worlds? That will be the topic of my next blog.
Until then, some questions for you to noodle on…
- What mission does your organization live? (And I am not talking about the mission that is POSTED on the internet that no one reads. I am talking about the mission that the organization and its employees really LIVE on a day to day basis.)
- What unique gift does your organization share with the world?
- Where does the mission of your life gel with that of your organization? And where do they clash?
- How does this affect your financial, emotional and spiritual goals?
© Org Whisperers 2010. All rights reserved.
References:
- Carol S Pearson – http://www.herowithin.com/index.html
- Awakening the Heroes Within – http://www.capt.org/catalog/itmdtl.htm?WT.si_n=ShoppingCart&WT.si_x=1&WT.pn_sku=60185&WT.tx_e=v&WT.tx_u=1&pnum=60185&bhcp=1
- The Pearson Archetypal System – http://www.herowithin.com/system.htm
- The PMAI Online Assessment – http://www.capt.org/catalog/MBTI-Book-PMAIonline.htm
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