A “Destiny” Experience is a specific event where you felt totally in the zone; you were doing what you believe you were born to do. These experiences point us directly to our life purpose. The key to identifying them is to think of a specific, discrete event or experience:
- Something that happened out of the blue one day
- A very special weekend
- Or, maybe some other anomalous event
A Destiny Experience is not a role or an extended period in life where you felt fulfilled, but a point in time that really impacted your life.
There is a simple three step process discussed in the book Coaching Questions: A Coach’s Guide to Powerful Asking Skills for examining one’s “Destiny” Experiences. The steps are outlined below.
Step One
To examine Destiny Experiences think of three experiences that really stand out in your mind (preferably from different seasons in your life). Often destiny moments are marked by an external confirmation:
- You succeeded at something important to you and/or others
- You made a genuine difference in your community or another group you care about
- Others recognized and affirmed your ability during or after the event in question
Step Two
Once you have identified your experiences, take ten to fifteen minutes to examine each experience deeply. Identify as many specific details as you can remember about these events. While you are reminiscing, be alert to connections between the details that manifest as important, and how these connections resonate with what you believe to be your life purpose. If one of these experiences was truly a peek into your destiny, what is emerging that is larger than the event itself?
Step Three
Now, here is the fun part! Compare your three Destiny Experiences using the following questions:
- When you look at these three stories together, what stands out to you? What do they have in common?
- Which details of these stories were crucial to the impact this event or experience had on you?
- What led you to choose these events instead of others? Why are they significant to you?
The key to this final step is believing you are on to something. Since we sorted out stories with a high sense of destiny, if the right events were chosen we should believe the details of these events are meaningful (especially when they pop up in more than one story). It is amazing what the specifics of these stories can tell us about our life’s true purpose and how we can better align ourselves with our own personal mission and values.