"Live life on purpose! "

Posted on May 04, 2016 by Cynthia Greene, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

“The unexamined life is not with living”

The above is a quote from Plato’s Apology. It is attributed to Socrates (born circa 427 BC in Greece) at his trial for impiety and corrupting the youth. His method of educating was so different from the norm of his time. Instead of merely sitting at the feet of the mentor and listening to lectures, Socrates asked questions of his pupils. His method was to draw out answers from his pupils, challenging their accuracy and completeness of thinking in a way that acted to move them towards their goals. He believed that within each person were all the answers to move them from where they were to where they wanted to go. This is the basis of life-coaching today and is the philosophy of the best educators.

By asking the right questions we are drawn into thinking deeper about our perspectives, our core values, our dreams and aspirations for our own lives. So often we get caught up in our “now” that we cannot see beyond the circumstances of right now. We are often just trying to stay alive, surviving that we cannot get out of our own moment to see how to move forward. And so years go by and we find ourselves where we were and our dreams and hopes for our lives fading away. We resign ourselves to merely existing.

I grew up with a grandfather and a mother who refused to allow themselves or us kids to just settle for mere existence. It was my maternal grandfather who introduced me to Plato’s works. I was a mere third grader when Grandpa introduced me to such great works. He loved to sit at the end of my bed and ask me what I thought about what I had just read. I would read the Bible and then read Plato or Aristotle. He would not correct me but he would guide me with questions. Mother did the same thing – she was a bit more obvious about inserting her opinions but she opened the door for me to explore my own value system.

Life is so much more than breathing and providing for our basic needs or even to provide for luxuries. To have significance, meaning is what life is all about. Are you merely surviving? Do you have dreams and hopes you have let die? Isn’t it time you began to examine your life? Set goals to reach those wonderful life giving dreams and desires?