What is Your Mission on Earth and What is it Not? Ten Misconceptions

Copyright 2006 Ineke Van Lint

You were sent to earth with a mission to fulfill. This mission has to do with your passion. If you want to be happy and fulfilled with enthusiasm, you have to discover what your mission is and organize your life and activities in function of your mission. Most people have the wrong idea about their mission. Here are some common misconceptions and the truth about what a mission on earth really is :

1. There is no such thing as a life mission and everything is just a coincidence. There is no such thing as Coincidence. We were sent down to Earth with a mission: to increase our ability to love. Everybody’s mission is unique because of the different ways we go about this. You too have your individual way to spread more love around you. Increasing the love energy on our planet is the ultimate goal of every life form on Earth.

2. Our mission or goal exists outside of us and is waiting to be discovered. Your mission is inside you, manifested by your natural talents, desires and passions. Look at what excites you. What kind of activities bring joy and satisfaction? What is it that you spend countless hours on as a kid? Your mission already exists and you knew it already before you came to Earth. The only thing for you to do now is to remember.

3. Our life goal is a particular occupation or profession. Our life goal is not a well-defined activity. It is much broader than a specific career and contains more than how you’re making a living. It’s a mistake to confuse how you provide for yourself with what your life mission is. It is possible to implement your mission from within your working environment, but it is much larger than that. When you meet new or old friends, always are you able to implement your mission, simply because it is an attitude, a sharing of your core talents.

4. Life is on hold until you have discovered your mission. No need to sit around and wait. You may still be uncertain about your goal in life, but that does not mean your life hasn’t started yet or is not significant. Everything you ran into up to this point in your life does have its importance and has brought you to where you are now: on the road of self-discovery and the fulfillment of your mission.Your life goal is continually being revealed to you, all the time. It’s not a one-off discovery, and then that’s it. It is rather an ongoing process than a single moment. The search and implementation continues throughout your life. This is exactly what your life is: the ongoing discovery and implementation of your mission.

5. You have to change in order to be worthy of discovering your mission. There’s no use in believing there is something wrong with you just because you are still searching. Everybody has a specific mission. Everybody is worthy and has the ability of finding his or her life mission. The desire of your soul to fully participate in the world will attract the right circumstances for you and allow your mission to present itself. Moreover, you are already perfectly equipped with the talents needed to fulfill your mission. All that is needed is your awareness. All that is needed is for you to un-cover them, that means, take them off the shelf and into the center of your life.

6. You can fulfill your mission by imitating somebody else. A person’s life destiny is a strictly individual matter and can thusly not be imitated or copied. You can be inspired by the courage and perseverance of another, but you cannot live a copy of that person’s life. A mission is like a suit in the big wardrobe of life. There is exactly one suit that fits you like a second skin, tailor-made for you only. If you try on the suit made for another, you are making two mistakes. First, your own suit remains in the closet, unused. Second, you have taken the suit of another and are thus taking the wrong place in the switchboard of life. If you’re not following your own mission, then you are following that of another!

7. It’s egotistical and arrogant to occupy yourself with your mission. One has heard many times to be of service to others, help your neighbor and be ready to reach out to those in need. Partly, that’s correct. But instead forgetting about the self and helping any random person who crosses your path, it is better to remember your mission and find out where, when and who it is you need to help. This kind of help will be all the more efficient and at the same time gives you much more satisfaction. Helping the forgetful way is only going to give you loads of frustration. Fatigue and exhaustion is the only result of only helping others while not taking the time to recharge your own batteries. Finding your mission in life and living accordingly is neither egotistical nor arrogant. It is your first responsibility. Remember: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” This includes loving the self. Living the implementation of your mission radiates enormous amounts of enthusiasm into your environment. This is a significant contribution to the well-being of all lives you touch.

8. You can discover your life mission by intellectual analysis. You will not discover your mission by analysis or intellectual considerations. It is rather a step-by-step process of discovery, driven by the attitude of introspection (looking within the self), by following your passions and by noticing for fundamental connections in your life. You will discover your mission by listening to your intuition and by taking your dreams and visions seriously.

9. You will become famous once you have discovered your mission. Your mission does not necessarily contain fame and popularity. Many people are implementing their mission with a low profile, in their own personal environment. Your success in fulfilling your mission cannot be measured by external signs such as riches or glamour. The real criteria for measuring success are enthusiasm, joy, energy, satsifaction, the knowing that everything has its meaning and the feeling that you are on the right place doing the right thing with the right people.

10. Pursuing your life goal is hard and difficult. Sometimes, while pursuing your life goal, you will have moments of fear, doubt and anxiety. You might often wonder if you’ve made the right choice, and if you couldn’t have just kept things the way they were. But as you come closer to fulfilling your life goal, these doubts and fears will be replaced by enthusiasm, joy, happiness, satisfaction and the feeling that life has deep meaning.