Wander Woman

I was working on an archetype workshop for coaches in Kazakhstan (yes, I’m going in May) when I came across some exercises on how to use archetypes to find your purpose.

What struck me were the questions and the distinctions the author used to help clarify the purpose of your purpose.

If you are looking to define your life’s purpose, think back on the last time you felt fully alive and excited by what you were doing, then answer these questions:

1. Were you creating something that would affect many people’s lives or had you completed something that made you feel the incredible depth of your knowledge, skill or art?
2. Were you able to glimpse and share something important about the future giving people hope or direction or were you able to fix something or improve something now that wasn’t working?
3. Did you get your sense of joy from helping someone else or were you most proud of your own achievement?
4. Did you give people hope or laughter or were you letting nature or life nourish your soul?

If you answered “both” for any one question, choose the option that truly made you feel good all over, honestly.

You might find your purpose by answering one of the questions or you might find your purpose in a hybrid of answers to two or three questions.

Adding archetypes to the mix,  you would either determine your dominant archetypes, the patterns of energy you most identify with, and then further define your purpose. Or you can define your purpose and determine if you are giving voice to the archetypes you most align with.

Use your answers to the above questions to help you choose the focus of your purpose below. The suggested archetypes for each purpose statement might fit for you or not depending on how you express the archetype. For example, a Jester may be the one who lightens up the room and helps people be optimistic about the future (Focus One). For others, being a Jester might help others heal after a difficult time (Focus Three). Teachers might help others realize their potential (Focus Three) or they are moved to make things better because they aren’t working well now (Focus Four).

Pioneer     Queen/King     Revolutionary      Visionary     Magician

Lover         Idealist             Collaborator         Jester

2.  Focused on creating or making something happen for self-expression or self-discovery.

Wanderer     Hero/Heroine     Adventurer     Seeker     Superstar

Ruler             Detective               Artist                 Gambler

3. Focused on assisting others to realize their potential or help them make a difference.

Storyteller     Caregiver         Inspirer          Healer          Mentor

Connector     Companion      Nurturer         Mother/Father

4.  Focused on changing what is not working now.

Warrior        Rebel         Advocate        Fixer     Entertainer

Thinker        Martyr         Teacher          Scholar

For me, I most enjoy helping people realize a new future than focus on fixing what went wrong. I love to do this through inspiration and storytelling and I travel the world, never happy sitting still. My Purpose is Focus #1 with my dominant archetypes being the Revolutionary, Lover and Pioneer. I am also a Wanderer, Warrior, Superstar and Storyteller. When I use these secondary patterns of energy to fulfill my purpose, I am most happy.

What about you? Can you define what gives you a sense of purpose? Are you giving voice to your dominant archetypes? If not, can you give them more air time in your life? Do you have old patterns that need to sit back to let you focus more of your energy on your purpose?

Please share this post and what you discover by commenting below or online.