It has been one year since the formation of the Education Committee and we are excited to continue our work and help you expand your knowledge of the SPIRE framework and apply these principles to your life. 

We will kick off 2023 with a deep dive into Purpose, the first Spiritual principle:

A purposeful life is a spiritual life.

Over the next three months, we will examine how purpose manifests itself across three spheres of life:

January:  Purpose for Adults and the Elderly

February:  Purpose at Work (including organizations, coaching, consulting and schools)

March:  Purpose for Parents and Children

For starters, what do we mean by Purpose?

Purpose is what gives meaning to our lives. And what gives meaning to your life is what matter most to you. It’s what gets you out of bed every morning.

Purpose is putting your talents and passions to work in the service of making the world better. It connects you to the people you want to serve. And, when you serve others from a place that matters most to you, you are serving yourself as well. It´s a win-win situation.

Knowing your purpose provides a sense of direction to your life and can help you define your goals and make important decisions.  Purpose can be found in your work, through your relationships and in your personal life.

Purpose includes a number of key concepts that you can explore through some mesearch.

•             Values:

Purpose is closely connected to your values, the principles that run your life. What do you care deeply about?  What would lead you to leave your job or end a relationship?  Those are your values.  What are your top 5-6 principles or values?   Have you taken a values assessment?  If not, select one of these from positivepsychology.com: https://positivepsychology.com/values-questionnaire/

Once you define your values, think about how to align your life with those values.  By putting your values into action, that will help you live your purpose!

•             Goals:

Purpose underlies the motivation to create and achieve your important life goals known as “self-concordant goals”:  goals that represent who we truly are and are inherently motivated to achieve. Purpose has a broad meaning whereas goals are specific achievements that you want to accomplish.  When you work on self-concordant goals, you are carrying out your purpose, you feel authentic, autonomous and passionate.

What are your authentic self-concordant goals?

•             Strengths:

A third element to consider with purpose is strengths:  your natural talents that help you to achieve your goals and live your purpose.  Strengths work starts with knowing your strengths!   Have you taken a Strengths Assessment?  Here are three free assessments:

VIA Character Strengths.

https://www.viacharacter.org/character-strengths-via

 This free online assessment was developed by the VIA Institute on Character, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the science of character strengths to the world. It takes 15 minutes and gives you your top 5 strengths. 

HIGH5 Strengths Test.

https://high5test.com

This is another free online assessment which gives you your top 5 strengths out of 20 strengths.  A paid option gives you access to a report of all 20 strengths, along with actionable insights about your strengths, areas to avoid, and career applications.

Strengths Profile

https://www.strengthsprofile.com

This assessment is based on 60 strengths.  The free online assessment tells you your top three Realized Strengths (strengths that you know), three Unrealized Strengths (strengths you should use more often), two Learned Behaviors (strengths that you use but do not enjoy) and one Weakness (something you don’t enjoy and find hard).  You can pay to access more detailed reports. 

Once you find your strengths, you can go one step farther because there are two types of strengths:

•             passion strengths, the things we love to do; and

•             performance strengths—the things we are good at doing.

The magic happens at the intersection of your passions and performance strengths.  And when you can find that intersection of strengths with passion,  that can fuel your inner motivation to work towards your purpose. 

We will explore these topics and more to help you find and live your purpose!

Be sure to consult our excellent resources on the HSA website where you will find books, articles, websites, research, videos, films and so much more!