While the answers to the purpose questions, especially when written down in this condensed form, can hopefully yield use in individual reflection and talking to body about them. We will also be using them as a foundation on which to build the next piece of priorities and potential. Before we move on, I'd like to let you in on why each of these questions were posed and what you might be able to draw from them. For 1a, consider how your response allows you to make the connection or note the lack of connection between purpose and where you are. This is why I'm here. This is why I chose this position, this situation, etc. I often find that whatever the answer is serves the individual as an anchor of connection between purpose and the choice to be here right now where you are. When I do this exercise with teams, it's often interesting to compare responses to this question among different members of the same organization and see how similar, how complimentary they often are. What you wrote for 1b meanwhile can serve as a pep talk for when you're feeling unsure about what you bring to the table in your situation, team, organization, or community. You know you're good at these things and you should feel proud about them. This answer could be your inner boost in times of trial. On a team level, it's nice to see the differences in responses to 1b. A high-performing team can often compare responses to 1b and see the variety of skills, perspective, and personality types in a room. On the other hand, if responses are too similar, the team might not have enough diversity of thought, and that could be an opportunity to bring in new perspectives. Moving onto your horizons. For 2a, you can look at your responses, the current set of actions and choices that will allow you to achieve your vision of the future. As an individual, your response to 2a can help you keep your eye on the prize and consider whether your current life is aligned with your deeply held priorities and view of the future. If there was a large divergence and you feel off track, what might be causing them? As a team, we can look to 2a to inform team missions and visions such as with co-founders of a startup or subteams within larger organizations embarking on a new project. Team responses to 2a get it the desired outcome of what the team is really trying to build. If there's one sneaky question among all of these, it is 2b, which attempts to get to the certain box of the urgent and important matrix of Eisenhower. When you can separate what is urgent out of what is important, it can help clarify your priorities. You might find you're often caught up in urgent tasks and putting off things that are truly important to you. The answers you wrote here are normally the really high important items that may well not be urgent. Your answer to this question will likely be most useful to our next P, priorities. In 3a, over the years, I've found there are fantastic conversations and insights that can flow from all three subparts to this question. Consider when you're in flow at work. Do your regular tasks include these activities? If so, do you have sufficient time blocked off in your calendar for you to find flow while you're doing them? Whether it's coding, writing, coaching, and developing others, you will want to have sufficient time to be immersed in it, and you may not have the time set aside. On the other hand, if your job doesn't involve these tasks that you've written, is there an opportunity for you to do some job crafting to channel Professor Amy Wesneski's work? If these are activities when you're in flow, can you make it a goal to have them on your weekly calendar or more dramatically find a job where that's possible? For the second subpart of 3a, when you're in flow at play, ask yourself whether you have these activities in across the whole week, including nights and weekends or indeed your monthly calendar. If not, you may want to get them in there more because they are clearly recharging you. These are the activities that bring you to life. So you'll be a better person at home and at work if you're giving them enough time in your week or month. For the final subpart of 3a, when you were in flow in childhood, sometimes this framing can be useful when you are embarking on a new challenge. The power of, in this case, an inbuilt analogy can be powerful. If you loved Lego building, riding your bike to adventures unknown, or jumping off cliffs into the ocean, whatever it is, the activity could be a metaphor for how you approach a change or navigate a challenge now. You might, for example, see starting a new company as that flow activity is different for everyone. Pick your source of flow and strength to frame your challenge, not somebody else's. I once found myself steering someone back to the bike analogy. He was an avid childhood writer who grew up landlocked with a fear of the ocean, but had been describing launching their new business as the need to just jump off that cliff. On a team level, it can be interesting to compare responses and generally be able to spot and celebrate the differences. Finally, for 3b, consider whether your purpose and actions are aligning over time. Does your response here match what you're currently doing or at least the direction you're heading at? Team responses for 3b can help team members really appreciate one another and where everyone is coming from. It can also help identify coaching opportunities for individuals on the team.
