I

have a reason to believe that nearly everything successful in life is so because of an element of trust. [ictt-tweet-inline]Trust rallies people, creates communities, builds confidence and cements relationships.[/ictt-tweet-inline] Today, there is a reason why some people are reading this. Some of them trust (from experience) that they will either be inspired or be trained by this article. If the element of trust is lacking, people will not read anything that I write.

Do You Trust Yourself?

The trust that I have been championing for the past several articles though is not just any kind of trust. It is the trust for our purpose, potential, gifts, and talents. I know for a fact that these things have been given a bad rap because through the years, we have built an alternative to purpose. [ictt-tweet-inline]The degree to which people are either on their paths of purpose or are deploying their purpose is by ratio so minimal as compared to survival and seeking to “make it” in life.[/ictt-tweet-inline] This is because a great percentage of people do not trust their purpose, their gifts and their talents.

I do not know of anybody who has not heard from the still small voice in their spirit things like this:

• “There has got to be more to life than this”
• “I think I am living way below my privileges”
• “I am better than this!”
• “I think I am called for greater things”
• “There is a better life than what I Am living”

Trusting What We Know Only

But what do we do is that we dull these nudging over and over again. We choose not to trust that the path that we ought to take is the correct path. So we stay with what makes sense to us. We stay with what puts food on the table so that we can be comfortable and not have to answer any questions. In the end, we trust only that which we know is “proven and tested” and there is a problem with that. The problem is that the proven and tested normally does not provide any transformation to something new. The proven and tested will only give you what you already know or experience. But what you already know and experience is not silencing the disquiet in your soul, telling you that something is missing!

The Right Way

There are perhaps 3 or so ways in which purpose nudges us. Before I can explain these ways I need to tell you the right way “to do trust”. The right way to trust your instincts. So far, we have derived the fact that the safest, confidence inducing and correct path to take is the path of purpose. Purpose will call you every single waking day until the very last breath you take. [ictt-tweet-inline]The wrong way to respond to the call of purpose is by mental assent that is not accompanied by action. The most potent way to respond to the call of purpose is through immediate obedience that is backed up by immediate action that moves the needle of your purpose fuel.[/ictt-tweet-inline]

Immediate Trust

Why is this important? Immediate obedience at most times rides on the benefit of positive emotions such as excitement, inspiration, motivation, vision and hope. This is way before reality hits you that you need to juggle some things and navigate some dangerous waters before the purpose comes to fruition. It is absolutely important to ride on these early positive emotions, because sooner or later, whether the emotions are there or not, you will have to hit a reality check.

When you delay in taking action by trusting the call of purpose, you tend to miss out on these positive emotions because they wear out. That is why the legendary sales warrior and teacher Zig Ziglar said it best:

“A lot of people say that motivation doesn’t last, well so does bathing and that is why we recommend it daily”

The Different Ways Purpose Calls

When I am talking of trusting the call of purpose, people can easily misunderstand me. That call of purpose is not necessarily the same that Moses received. The call of purpose is long haul, kind of like dating before marriage. Therefore, the calls are not necessarily specific, specifying what your purpose is. For the most part, those calls are for putting you on the path of purpose so you can discover it as you take action. That is why trust is absolutely important.

1. Ideas:

The call of purpose is always through ideas, especially when all is well and you are not in a crisis. The amount of ideas that go on in our minds are astounding. Each day, our minds house a minimum of 10 great ideas that if acted upon, can lead us to purpose. The question though is: How prompt are we in downloading and following through with these ideas? Do we even record them?

2. Questions:

At times, purpose calls us by dropping pondering questions in our hearts. For example, you might be wondering, “Why is it that school does not provide solution for everyone, including those who did not have funds to complete or those who did not have the academic prowess to manage school?” These type of questions if trusted that they do have an answer can take you into a quest. This quest will most definitely reveal some astonishing thing about your purpose. But how prompt are we in getting on the quest?

3. Inspirations:

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I have been inspired to do something by either listening, watching or attending events where inspiration is churned out. I just completed a series of articles (35 strong) about purpose. This series was as a result of inspiration that came to me in the month of May 2018 as I attended a church service at my local church. That inspiration has already given me an idea for a book which I am working on, an online study course on purpose, a workbook, a website, a coaching model and so on. What if I didn’t trust that idea? And what if I won’t trust these offshoot ideas that came from that moment of inspiration?

4. Disquiet:

At times in our lives, there is just this feeling that things are not right. I am not even talking of a crisis. I am talking of situations where there is fuel in the tank of the car, food in the fridge, money in the bank account, peace at home, and health for everybody…and yet…something is missing. That is purpose calling. The question is, how prompt will you answer that call? How fast will you trust?

5. Crisis:

Perhaps the greatest megaphone of purpose in our lives is during the moments of crisis. I downloaded my purpose statement complete with scripture at a time of crisis in my life. Later on, during another crisis, I made a mental note that I must have something to sell to people at any one point in time. Crisis forces us to reevaluate our lives and see what we have done wrong. It offers us resilience lessons but at the core if it all, reminds us of the purpose of life. So when crisis hit us, how fast are we in trusting to learn the lessons that life is forcing on us? The earlier we do, the earlier we surrender, the earlier we get out. But the most important thing is never to lose the lesson you learnt while in a crisis. If you do, another crisis is coming to refresh your thoughts. So learn to trust.