Finding Purpose: A Call to Leave the Comfort Zone

Special thanks to our guest author, Asbel Montes, for contributing today's blog. Asbel is a Managing Partner of Solutions Group Consulting. You can read more about him in his bio below.

“Security is a bad mistress when you’re married to purpose. It always cheats.” 

— Shules Hersh

That's a powerful statement.

For those of us who believe we're living our lives in pursuit of purpose, this idea should make us stop in our tracks. We might be aware of our tendency to get distracted, or we may consciously practice self-discipline to avoid settling for a short-term gain. Those stumbling blocks are obvious. 

But security?  

Merriam-Webster defines security as “the quality or state of being secure; safety.”

Purpose, on the other hand, is defined as “the aim or goal of a person: what a person is trying to do, become, etc.” 

Purpose takes us out of our comfort zone and into the unknown. Security keeps us in our comfort zone. Security is safe. It’s not wrong, it’s just safe. 

But there’s one thing that doesn’t happen much in our comfort zones: growth. Security serves an important role in our lives, but it becomes a hindrance when it starts to prevent us from reaching for our goals, moving forward, and living out our purpose. If you focus too much on feeling secure, you tend to lose sight of your purpose, and instead wind up chasing a constant sense of safety. 

Without a solid lock on your purpose, your focus quickly shifts to the short term. In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says it this way: “Without a clear purpose you have no foundation on which you base decisions, allocate your time, and use your resources. You will tend to make choices based on circumstances, pressures, and your mood at that moment. People who don’t know their purpose try to do too much — and that causes stress, fatigue, and conflict.”

Think of it like crossing a river. When you live for security, you move tentatively from rock to rock, mostly staying put because you're certain of your footing there. Purpose waits for you on the other side and requires you to keep moving, no matter how slippery the next rock is or how loud the river. You have a goal to reach, and you must keep moving forward in order to get to it. 

When you feel secure, it's tempting to be afraid of things changing too much. You might fear discomfort, risk, or failure. The security of your current position seems safe when compared to the unknown. Even if your current position is uncomfortable, you might fear that the unknown will be even more scary and uncomfortable. 

And that's understandable. We have no control over many things in life. That's why we long for security.

But as we learn to accept the things we can't change, we can move forward and begin to focus on the things we CAN. Pursuing our purpose can help us narrow our focus on the things directly in front of us—the things that are within our power to change. That in turn helps us navigate toward our ultimate goal. 

As my friend Dr. James Woodson put it: "There are so many variables. It's important to take the time to pause and understand: Is this something I can do something about, or is this something I can’t? Part of walking through life is figuring out that balance between: in the grand scheme of things, I’m either significant, or I’m insignificant—or, I’m both." Understanding that balance is key in staying grounded and focused on purpose. 

Change takes courage. It often requires leaving the comfort zone. But by focusing on purpose, it becomes easier to find that courage—which then helps us keep moving toward purpose.

So, as we begin 2021, ask yourself: What is my purpose?

If you don't know, or know you are not walking in it, then maybe security has cheated you.

Purpose. Find it. Pursue it. 

You will be glad you did.

For more on purpose and what that means to Pulsara, check out Reflections from Pulsara's CEO: Driven by Purpose.