Your Personal Renaissance to Purpose Driven Life
12 Step Plan for Finding Life Purpose and True Calling: Diane Dreher
Aug 6, 2008
In Your Personal Renaissance, 12 steps to finding your life's true calling, Diane Dreher lays out an orderly, well presented plan for moving to a life based on purpose. Dreher is a renaissance expert and author of The Tao of Inner Peace.
Renaissance means a rebirth, a revival of learning. Dreher uses the renaissance theme to suggest that finding life purpose and aligning with one's true calling is a rebirth of sorts. Dreher suggests that those following her plan can expect to be happier, more energetic, and feel more authentic.
A 12-Step Plan
Her renaissance plan involves four steps and eight practices. The four steps are:
- Discovery: Realize Your Joys and Talents
- Detachment: Clear the Path Within
- Discernment: Embrace Your Values, Live with Heart
- Direction: Turn Your Ideals into Action
The eight practices are:
- Faith: Trusting Your Life and Your World
- Examine: Staying on Course with Your Dreams
- Community: Gaining Support from Mentors and Friends
- Contemplation: Finding Your Inner Oasis of Peace
- Creativity: Making Your Life a Work of Art
- Reading and Reflection: Exploring New Worlds Within and Around You
- Exercise: Building Strength and Wisdom
- Discipline and Dedication: Bringing Your Dreams to Life
Renaissance Principles
Dreher provides 10 basic principles as the foundation for her personal renaissance plan. These are:
- Your calling is your destiny, which brings joy and meaning to life.
- Daily choices shape your life.
- Your inner core is forever young and will lead to your calling.
- You must detach from the noise of the world to hear your inner voice.
- Your purpose is to discover and use your gifts.
- Follow what inspires and avoid what diminishes.
- Excel by focusing on strengths.
- Affirm creative growth for self and others.
- Small actions accumulate over time to provide large results.
- The universe will support you in your quest to follow your calling.
Personal Growth Exercises
Dreher's book contains helpful exercises throughout. She suggests you create your own personal Renaissance Notebook to capture your insights and responses to the book's exercises.
Finding Life Purpose
Finding one's life purpose is a personal journey of reflection and introspection. The answer to the question of one's purpose in life is found within. One helpful suggestion Dreher makes is that to find the purpose driven life, follow your energy. When using your unique gifts, the strengths that are natural and intuitively yours, you feel energetic, vital, and joyful. Recognize these moments in your life and focus upon them as indicators of your life purpose.
Focus on Strengths
Researchers know that people are more creative, more productive, and happier when focusing on their strengths. Yet most people, instead, focus on their weaknesses, ruminating about inabilities and working to improve. Dreher suggests this focus stems from fear, fear of change, failure, and the unknown.
Following Your Personal Renaissance will require dedication, discipline, and a willingness to explore your inner thoughts and beliefs. Success at building life around purpose is well worth it.
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