A life compass can help keep you focused and aligned with what is important. It can help you recognise when you have drifted away from your purpose and what brings joy.
I’ve been thinking more about my own life compass recently. Two areas have emerged; helping others succeed and mastering emotions. Inspired by Derek Sivers, I’ve found that these succinctly provide the minimum alignment to support my personal reflection and decision making.
Below explains a little more about each one and how they might also be areas for your compass:
Helping others succeed
It is an inbuilt human desire to help others succeed. It is also proven that through helping others it boosts our happiness and life satisfaction:
There is science also behind why this is helpful for a healthy, fulfilled life. Scientific studies show that helping others boosts happiness. It increases life satisfaction, provides a sense of meaning, increases feelings of competence, improves our mood and reduced stress. It can help to take our minds off our own troubles too. Kindness towards others is be the glue which connects individual happiness with wider community and societal wellbeing. Giving to others helps us connect with people and meets one of our basic human needs – relatedness. Action for Happiness
Questions:
When did I last help someone else succeed?
Who can I help and what might they need?
What can I offer, that I know something about, that probably won't happen unless I take responsibility for it?
Mastering your emotions
A life long journey is becoming more aware of our emotions and internal processing. Much of our thinking is automatic but through daily practices of meditation, journaling, yoga and others we can become more aware of our emotions.
Managing your impulsive, emotional Chimp as an adult will be one of the biggest factors determining how successful you are in life. - Steve Peters
Do this regularly:
Close your eyes, take 5 deep breaths and ask yourself, how do I feel right now?
Q: What is your life compass?