A few weeks ago, I had a sudden urge to identify my life's purpose.

Not having a clue -- or, rather -- having too many clues -- I turned to my pendulum for help. First, I made a long, long list of anything that I thought could be my life's purpose. Then I went down that list, looking for yeses (pendulum swings forward and back) or nos (pendulum swings side to side).

Oy! ... for each and every potential life purpose that I listed, my pendulum swung forward and back. Yes, yes, yes, yes ... and more yeses.  Apparently, I have multiple life purposes -- which I kind of suspected all along. At least I know that I haven't been living off-purpose.

But I wanted to know if I have a Big Purpose -- a Soul Purpose. A purpose which holds all those smaller life purposes in its net. And I also wanted to know how Mojotivity -- which is what you've got when your energy befriends your talents, wisdom, best qualities and quirks -- connects to this Soul Purpose.

So I asked my pendulum, "Of these, which is my Soul (not sole-) Purpose?" And, this time, the only yes I got was "Amplifying Joy."

Wow! Now there's a soul purpose that makes me want to do a somersault!

Recently I had an experience which exemplified Joy At Work.  It was doubly uplifting because it occurred in the most unexpected place.

Here's what happened:

A few months ago, I needed to get my car smog-tested in order to register it.

It's the law here in California that only certain places can perform smog-tests.  These are smog-test only places, which are prohibited from doing any repairs, at all. There's no benefit to the shop if you flunk your test, because no matter how bad your results, they can't profit from it.

Hoping to get it all over with quickly, expecting to grin and bare it, I went to the nearest smog-test-only site, which happened to be in a fairly seedy section of Oakland. I drove in without an appointment, and since there seemed to be quite a few cars ahead of me, and all the workers looked very busy, I expected a long wait. Sheesh! I knew should have made an appointment!

Imagine my surprise (and relief) when one of the workers immediately ran over to my car, and with a huge smile on his face, he told me that I was next in line, and it wouldn't take very long. He took my car keys and guided me over to a row of plastic chairs. Looking me straight in the eye, he wished me good luck on my test. Hmmmm.

A few minutes later (my car was already being examined) another worker brought me some bottled water and a foil wrapped Asian rice cookie.

He too assured me that it wouldn't take long. I could see that everyone was working really fast, buzzing like bees, so I believed him.

Then another of the workers came running over with a huge smile on his face and said "Congratulations, you passed." Gosh, he seemed so happy for me, you'd a thunk I'd won the lottery.

And then, as I was checking out, the clerk suggested that if I was approaching my registration deadline, and wanted to register today, I could go over to the nearby AAA and do it there.

Everyone was incredibly polite, cheerful, calm and welcoming. They were all Vietnamese, so maybe it's a Vietnamese thing. Maybe they were all followers of Thich Nhat Hanh. I just know that the mood of that place was as sweet as the mood at a mediation retreat.

I felt as if they had discovered the secret of Joy in Doing.

         Mend Your Mojotivity:
           Joy on Purpose
         _________________________

Usually, Mojotivity Work involves amplifying joy by subtracting something: a negative belief ... a problem ... a traumatic memory ... a story you keep telling yourself ... a physical pain ... a disruption in your energy system.

For today, I'm suggesting that you add something: a new approach to an old activity.

First, find a task that you normally do with resentment, or boredom, or inattention. Maybe it's your bookkeeping, or the dishes, maybe it's an errand, or a visit to the dentist, or a confrontation with an annoying neighbor or ... you name it!

Now, see what it feels like to do this task with an intentional smile on your face, and with energy in your step -- even if no one is around. (It's been proven scientifically that not only does being happy make you smile, but smiling makes you happy.)

Mojotivity Clue:

It may seem weird to smile when
you're doing something you think
you hate doing, or to act energized
when you're feeling blah, but try
and Fake it Till You Make It!

_____________________

"Joan's work is like having an eraser that simply removes problems.

Once you work on a problem you can easily forget that it was a problem, because it's completely gone!"

Cathy Hedgecock,
journalist