Finding Your Dharma to Discover Your "Why"

All along you’ve heard whispers about your life’s purpose and your deeper “why.” But now, we’re going to turn those whispers into shouts while you discover the impact you wish to create in your life and your business. And a big part of discovering your why also means discovering your dharma.

(If you’re interested in discovering the impact you wish to create in your life and business, you’ll also want to check out my Soulful Leadership: Group Coaching + Online Course next!)

With time spent on thoughtful consideration of your deepest “Why?”, you’ll come away with the answers you need to propel your life forward in a direction you’ve been waiting for! 

And that's exactly what we're going to spend our time on today in this post. 

First, let’s start with the basics.

What is dharma? 

The concept of dharma has somewhat different meanings throughout Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. 

Hinduism: Dharma is the religious and moral law that governs individual conduct. It is also one of the four ends of life, the others being kama, artha, and moksha.

Buddhism: Applied to the teachings of Budda, dharma refers to cosmic law and order: universal truths that apply to all at all times.

Jainism: Moral virtue and dharma are one and the same in Jain philosophy.

Today, when we talk about dharma, we're referring to your life's purpose. Your deepest “why.” Of course, that's a BIG concept to cover in one post. 

Finding Your Dharma

But I've got powerful exercise to share with you today to help you develop a greater, more clear sense of who you are and your purposes in life. With this exercise, you can begin to uncover the deep, soulful “Why?” of why you do what you do.

It starts with this equation: 

Love + Talent + Learn + People + Problem = 10 Possibilities > Three Possibilities > One Possibility

Here's how it works. 

Love

What do you love? Make a list of all of the things that come to mind. Cooking? Dancing? Travel? 

Talent

What are your talents and skills? Feel free to get as specific or unique as you'd like!

Learn

What do you love to learn? What are you passionate about discovering and learning more about?

People

Who do you love helping the most or want to help the most? Children? Animals (Close enough to people, right?)? Single mothers?

Problem

What problem do you want to solve most for others? 

When you add all of these answers up, you begin to discover your dharma. Your "why." And often, you'll find there are a LOT more possibilities than you ever imagined. 

Possibilities

To begin, make a list of ten possibilities. Then, get more specific and narrow that list down to three. Maybe some of the possibilities can be combined. Finally, you'll get to one overarching possibility. Then it's time to make it happen!

What is your true purpose? When you consider what you love, what your talents are, what you love to learn, who you want to help, and the problem you want to solve, the answer(s) could surprise you. Perhaps you'll discover a passion and talent for teaching children to cook. Or maybe you'll find your dharma is caring for people at the end of their life. 

For some, your dharma might be evident on your first try at this exercise. But chances are, it will take some time and tweaking your answers until you figure it out. But this work is worth it, and the answer could change your life! This exercise is meant to give you a great starting point, as well as the opportunity to learn things about yourself you hadn't ever considered. 

Did you love reading about finding your dharma and discovering your soul's purpose? Here are three posts to read next:

• Take the Belief Inventory to Discover What Holds You Back
• Your Personal Vitality Quiz: How Do You Score?
• Creating Your Own Soulful Activation Practice