Help your kids find their purpose in life

SO HOW CAN PARENTS HELP THEM GET PAST THAT? Living your purpose often means saying no to more things than you say yes to. But for kids in their 20s, and to some degree, people in midlife who

are still working out what their purpose is, it’s important to say yes a lot. Yes to experience and to life. Get out there, and do it. Explore. An awful lot of great things come to us just

out of happenstance, and they turn out to be significant, even defining. They can be pivotal moments only if you’re open to them. MANY PARENTS WANT, ABOVE ALL, TO SEE THEIR KIDS SETTLED IN A

CAREER. WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT IS UNSETTLING. Yes. I’m trying to trigger some kind of inner revelation that might move someone closer to their true purpose, and that can be very

unsettling. So if asking these questions triggers just one answer that makes someone uncomfortable and say something like, “Hmm. Maybe investment banking isn’t really what I want to do,”

then I feel good about that. I IMAGINE AT LEAST SOME KIDS WILL SAY, “ARE YOU CRAZY? I NEED A JOB, ANY JOB. I CAN’T AFFORD TO WORRY ABOUT PURPOSE AND VALUES AND MEANING AND STUFF.” That’s

true. Sometimes you need a job, any job — you have to pay your bills. Especially people just starting out. But work isn’t the only place to find purpose. Some people never get it in their

work, and that’s OK. They find it in their families, the community, somewhere else. It doesn’t have to be do-goody, charity stuff. It can be competing in triathlons or playing music. The

point about purpose is that it's an outer focus. It positively affects people around us. LIFE REIMAGINED Visit LIFE REIMAGINED to rediscover what truly matters to you. 5 THINGS TO SAY

TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT PURPOSE 1. “If you could design your ideal day, what would it look like?” 2. “If you could choose any career path, regardless of money, what would it be?” 3. “I just did

this cool exercise where I chose my values and passions and put together a purpose statement. Do you want to see mine?” 4. “When I was young, I was so afraid of _____. Have you ever felt

that way?” 5. “I think you are wonderful at A, B and C. What do you think your greatest talents are?