What We Want vs. What We Do: How to Align Them and What You Gain – ElPropósito3 min de lectura

Where does your compass point, and how closely does it match what you want?

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  Tim Graf on Unsplash

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  I’m a pilot, and flying has been one of my passions since I was a kid. Air navigation has a term called variation, or magnetic variation: the angle between true north and magnetic north. It’s what lets us correct our heading so we reach our destination on the right course.

Comparing those two norths with "what I want vs. what I do," I picture an inner compass pointing the right way while our actions point, and carry us, somewhere else. As that gap narrows, we take the most solid steps of our lives.

So the first big step is knowing where our compass points. That means knowing our life purpose: the inspiring statement that tells us what our essence is and where it would take us if we used it to the full. It has always been there, waiting, and once it comes to light, everything in life makes sense. Above all, it reveals our own variation, as in the aviation example, and the decisions we need to make to correct course.

Purpose is the foundation for picturing the future and setting meaningful goals, alone and together. A life or a culture guided this way, with no variation between what we do and what we want, will always have a ready source of inspiration, passion, commitment, decisiveness, courage, results, satisfaction, fulfillment and meaning, among much else. In a company, a purpose everyone shares (or one each person knows for themselves) opens the door to the creative, innovative and unconventional approaches we increasingly need to reach and exceed our results.

A few questions to reflect on:

Do you know where your compass points? How wide is the variation between what you want and what you do today? What would happen if it dropped to zero? What would it look like if every member of a group, team, organization, country or institution shared the same purpose?

A big hug and have a great week,

Rodrigo Baccaro

P.S. 1 An article I recommend: "Creating a Purpose-Driven Organization"

P.S. 2 This week I was reading The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair. I knew this would happen (it’s an excellent book and I recommend it 100%), so this week I’ll read another Joël Dicker novel, The Disappearance of Stephanie Mailer.

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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