Our soul, eternal and masterful, incarnated with purpose. It comes forward with an essence. A guiding feeling. A chosen way of being as it makes its way on the this earthly plane. Love, Creativity, Service, Healing, Sharing, Joy. As humans, these qualities radiate within us. They pulse out from our being. When we sit consciously in that beautiful energy, it feels perfect. The purposes of our being beat a mighty drum. We want to act. We feel the pull toward action. Toward creation. Toward more.

Yet, we often mistake the reverberations of that delicious soulful essence for a responsibility to do it in some predestined and correct manner. We begin to think that there is something that we have to do. Are supposed to do. Are meant to do. With these thoughts, the pressure builds. We must get moving. We must get going. We get all swept up in finding the magic formula. A desperate yearning to do it right over takes that which used to bring us joy.

A struggle happens. We get deep in the muck of what we think we are incarnated to do. We begin to believe that we were put on this earth to do that one special thing. And if we are caught in a moment that does not look like the picture we have doodled in our head, we are failing. Failing ourselves. Failing God or whatever magnificent force guides us. Failing at this wild game of life. The good news is, this simply not true.

Our soul’s purpose is not an action step. It requires no grand plans. We can live in the energy of our soul and shine the light, without having to do anything. And though there is nothing that we need to do in order to fulfill our purpose, it feels damn good to. It is dizzyingly satisfying to create a life where our actions are guided. Where we serve from a place of knowing. Where we heed that call to really live a soul filled life. The key to this lives beyond the realm of the mind, where these supposed tos are created. The key lives in the heart.

Our souls calling is not a career. Or a book. Or a marathon. Those are choices. Ways that each person can decide to express the purpose their soul. There is no right or no wrong. It is your desire that guides you. My desire that guides me. If you feel the wanting deep within to show up and create from this space of purpose, go for it. Lean into what feels best. That is how you will know that you are on the path that resonates most deeply with the truth of your soul. Allow your pleasure to guide you, as joy and love are the language the soul speaks. Stop thinking about what you are meant to do and start thinking about what you want to do. That is the way to live your purpose.

Jo Anna Rothman, MA is an intuitive coach and facilitator of The Receiving Project. She revels in assisting people in falling in love with their lives. She is committed to living a life full of pleasure, purpose and enthusiasm. And perhaps most important, she knows the secret to the perfect s’more.