(ThyBlackMan.com) Unlocking one’s purpose is not a destination, it’s a journey. This journey takes place each and every day we are privileged to walk this planet earth. The key to this unfolding of our purpose is to learn to look at our lives from the inside out and not to be blinded to opportunities that exist – even in the middle of change and challenge. In short, we must overcome ‘mind-blocks’ – events, experiences, and people – whose only purpose in our life is to distract us from our greater purpose for our life. Here are four such mind-blocks we must overcome to unlock the destiny which is rightfully ours.
Mind-Block#One
The Fog of Living
Life happens, right? We go to school, raise a family and pursue our destiny. But before we know it, we become lost in the maze of raising kids, paying bills and going to work. Our dreams get murky, our 
hopes dwindle and eventually we stop dreaming altogether. Purpose then becomes a faint silhouette in our rear-view mirror. This is when we must dare to resuscitate our ambitions. The late Christopher Reeve – Superman! – said it best: So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.
Mind-Block#Two
Comparmentalization
The worst thing that’s happened to us is compartmentalization. ‘Compartment’ is a separate room or chamber; ‘compart’ is to divide; ‘mental’ is mind. Thus, we are living with divided minds; our happiness is tucked away into neat little ‘compartments’ such as spousal roles, work, parenting etc.
The great sculptor-artist Michelangelo once said to his students, Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. That attitude pinpoints the approach we must take toward ‘de-compartmentalizing’ our lives. We must undertake the arduous task of sculpting the life we want to achieve and shaping it so wondrously that we benefit from its holistic quality.
Mind-Block#Three
No Aim
Another reason we fail to unlock our purpose is because we have not set any goals; therefore, we drift aimlessly through life. Unlocking your purpose means you must shoot for something – something high and worthwhile – something bigger than you. Les Brown opines, Most people aren’t successful in life not because they aim too high and miss – but because they aim to low and hit. What’s your aim? How high are you aiming? The archer reaches a milestone not after two or three shots that are off target, but after countless hours of practice, the archer hits his or her target because they have something to aim for.
Mind-Block#Four
Inner and Outer Heckler
Out of all of the mind-blocks listed, this is perhaps the most common and the most lethal of all. It’s the story we’ve keep telling ourselves day in and out – the one we’ve come to believe and accept: that we are not good enough, that we have no greater purpose than to get up every morning and go to a job we don’t like. This inner heckler is literally making us sick. Furthermore, when this inner heckler is aided and abetted by the outer hecklers – friends, family and social network – no small wonder that our purpose remains buried under the avalanche of negativity.
John Oliver posits, There are two kinds of hecklers: the destructive and constructive hecklers. Of the two listed by Oliver, the most damaging heckler is the inner one. We can do little to control the outer hecklers – save keeping our distance. We can, however, work to silence the inner heckler. The foremost step is to believe in who you are.
In the midst of change and challenge, we can still unlock our purpose!
Staff Writer; W. Eric Croomes
This talented brother is a holistic lifestyle exercise expert and founder and executive coach of Infinite Strategies LLC, a multi-level coaching firm that develops and executes strategies for fitness training, youth achievement and lifestyle management. Eric is an author, fitness professional, holistic life coach and motivational speaker.
In October 2015, Eric released Life’s A Gym: Seven Fitness Principles to Get the Best of Both, which shows readers how to use exercise to attract a feeling of wellness, success and freedom (Infinite Strategies Coaching LLC, 2015) – http://www.infinitestrategiescoaching.com.
