In an accountability journey, purpose is an important theme we consciously take time to explore. Alongside weekly follow ups and concrete actions, we also pause to look deeper. Does the direction still feel right? Are the goals and steps you’re taking aligned with who you are and what truly matters to you?
The stronger that alignment with what feels right for you, the clearer it becomes which choices make sense and which steps give energy rather than drain it. A clear inner direction brings focus and calm, not by fixing everything in advance, but by creating clarity.
In this blog, I share three exercises that help you move closer to your deeper direction, or stay consciously connected to it.
Exercise 1: Where does your energy flow naturally?
What truly fits you rarely reveals itself by searching harder. It becomes visible in moments when you feel fully present, sharp and at ease with what you’re doing, without forcing yourself.
Pause with this question:
When did I feel engaged and energised over the past few months?
Write down three situations. Don’t focus on the outcome, but on what you were doing, how it felt and why it came naturally. Those recurring elements often point to an important underlying driver.
In accountability journeys, we see that goals only truly carry weight when they emerge from this inner alignment rather than from external expectations.
Exercise 2: What no longer fits?
Moving closer to your purpose also requires honesty. It means recognising that certain roles, projects or choices no longer fit who you are today. Not because they are wrong, but because you have outgrown them.
Many people hold on to what seems logical or what others expect from them. That drains energy and creates inner tension.
Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, one of the most influential books on meaning and human behaviour, captured this powerfully:
“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost any ‘how’.”
Without that why, every how becomes heavy. By naming what no longer fits, space opens for choices that align more closely with your meaningful direction.
Exercise 3: Reduce your purpose to one sentence
Purpose doesn’t need to be grand or complex. It often becomes clearer when you allow yourself to simplify it.
Take a moment for this exercise:
Why am I here, beyond my role or title?
Why do I do the work I do today?
Write down whatever comes up, without analysing or refining it. Then reduce your answers to one powerful sentence of no more than eight words.
That sentence is not a slogan. It’s an anchor. Something you can return to when decisions become complex or when your focus starts to drift.
Closing
Living and working from your purpose is not a destination you reach. It’s an ongoing alignment between who you are, what you do and why you do it. The clearer that alignment, the easier it becomes to choose goals and take steps you can actually sustain.
Accountability supports this process by creating space for both reflection and action. Not to lock you into a structure, but to bring you closer to yourself. If you’d like to explore this further, individually or within an organisation, you can find more information via Level Up Your Life or Level Up Your Company.
