In our world where we are overwhelmed with endless opportunities and commitments, there’s always something else to do. Another project or task to do at work, more cleaning or organising to do at home, another TV series or movie to watch for leisure. But there’s never enough time for it all. Hence, we must consciously choose how to spend our limited time or, we’ll leave where we invest our energy, to chance.
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Defining your contextual purpose is simple and it enables you to avoid expanding yourself too widely, to the degree that you’d prevent yourself from making meaningful progress in anything. To do so, follow the below steps!
First of all, define your three biggest priorities.
For example:
Supporting your family
Progressing your career
Building your financial independence
Then, break down what you want to achieve in a set time (e.g., the next twelve months), for each of these priorities.
For example:
Engaging in regular meaningful conversations on support and wellbeing with each member of your household
Leading a team of at least five employees through a significant project
Developing an automated financial strategy to maximise the benefits of compound interest
And then… your done!
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Well, done planning. From here, all that’s left to do is to focus on these three goals. When a new opportunity arises, proceed with great caution if it doesn’t fit one of these goals. I’m not saying don’t do it, but rather, consider if it is a better use of your time than working towards one of these three goals. With finite time, we can only do so much, and it can be hard to know what to focus on. But a contextual purpose makes it a little easier to decide.