Finding Purpose in Everyday Life? Here’s 4 Simple Ways.

Available for Interviews: Nell Derick Debevoise

Nell Derick Debevoise is the Founder & CEO of Inspiring Capital and the author of the new book, Going First: Find the Courage to Lead Purposefully and Inspire Action is available on Amazon.

 

What Nell Derick Debevoise can say in an interview on
Finding Purpose:

      • It is possible—and advisable!—to find purpose in everyday life. By purpose, we just mean a reason for doing things larger than your own success.
      • For one thing, medical research by Harvard and elsewhere has shown that having a sense of purpose reduces our risk of dementia and heart disease. It also reduces anxiety and depression and increases our empathy, motivation, and creativity.
      • But how is it possible to build purpose in our already busy lives? 

      1. Self-care can be simple, quick, and affordable, and it is a necessary ingredient to be purposeful in today’s context. It’s the “oxygen mask” metaphor; if you’re not OK, you can’t effectively support others. 
          • Make one of your calls a “walk and talk,” and agree to pace around your apartment or walk around the block during a conversation with a colleague that doesn’t require viewing documents.
      2. We can also find purpose in our relationships with family members and friends.
          • By taking the time to make a healthy meal for your family, you set them up for a productive, balanced day. We often undervalue caretaking, but it can be a massively impactful activity that influences the people we care for, and consequently the people that they interact with.
      3. Simple acts in your community can be connected to your purpose too. 
          • Perhaps you support local businesses by buying from them rather than Amazon. Choosing to shop locally, and encourage friends and neighbors to do the same is a great way to achieve this. Having the patience that is sometimes required when shopping in smaller stores helps invigorate your local economy, create jobs, and build community relationships.
      4. Finally, we all use money somehow through the course of the day, and you don’t have to be rich to find purpose in the ways that you spend it. 
          • First and foremost, consider what you buy each day. What are you buying, and from whom? Buying less is a powerful contribution to reducing environmental degradation. And when you do buy things you need, choose to support local businesses and/or those that are owned by women and people of color to help reduce the wealth gap.
          • You can contribute to solving the problems you care about by donating to nonprofits, even on a small level—recurring gifts of $5-50 a month helps local organizations keep the lights on! 
          • And whatever investments you are making, whether a small retirement account of mutual funds or direct angel deals, consider who and what you’re investing in. There are lots of ESG-screened funds, and impact-specific networks and investors that are seeking market, or better, returns! 

Remember that perfect is the enemy of the good when it comes to purposeful living! It’s not about doing everything or solving all the problems. It’s just a matter of doing your part to contribute to the issues you care most about.

 

Interview: Nell Derick Debevoise

Nell Derick Debevoise is the Founder & CEO of Inspiring Capital and helps purpose-driven leaders expand their impact, grow their businesses, and build legacies—partnering with leaders and companies that are good for the people and the planet around them. Her approach is informed by her experience living and working on 4 continents; studying at Harvard, Cambridge, Columbia, and London Business Schools; and in working with CEOs, and other people-leaders of American Express, Cisco, Google, and hyper-growth startups in the health, consumer, and fintech sectors. She’s a Senior Contributor to Forbes, and her first book, Going First: Find the Courage to Lead Purposefully and Inspire Action is available on Amazon.

Going First: Find the Courage to Lead Purposefully and Inspire Action (Purposeful Leadership Book 1) by [Nell Derick Debevoise]

Contact:
Jo Allison
Managing Editor
Director of Public Relations
MEDIA AMBASSADORS
Success In Media, Inc.
Jo@SuccessInMedia.com

Leave a Reply