Emergent Strategy – Let Your Purpose Emerge

Your purpose isn’t the “one thing” you’re here to do for the rest of your life. And you won’t find it in a book, course, or seminar. Your purpose is actually something that emerges moment by moment by moment.
 

The term emergent strategy – comes from the incredible author and amazing being Adrienne Marie Brown, who wrote the book called Emergent Strategy. And when I first found this book years back, I was blown away. It helped validate a lot of things for me in ways I viewed the world and put it into words that I hadn’t found.
 

Now, I’m going to share my philosophy on emergent strategy. My journey with this idea of emerging purpose goes back to 2010, when I realized trying to figure out my purpose wasn’t working.
 

I was in the corporate world and my big dream was to start a nonprofit in Kenya. I was trying to figure out how I could make enough online income passively or through an online business such that I could move to Kenya and volunteer full time while still taking care of myself and my bills.

I spent years being abused by my company, working 80 hour work weeks and going home after work to try to build my first online business so that I could live this dream out.

I was trying to create the replacement income that would allow me to feel comfortable quitting my job. I was trying to make it happen. I was trying to force it through things like affiliate marketing and online funnels that I wasn’t really passionate about. . 
 

For years, it wasn’t working. By focusing on the BIG step I was trying to take, I was paralyzed from taking a small one. I was trying to use my mind to create a “safe” path towards my dream. Instead of following my Heart to create the path one step at a time.

 
And when I finally realized this, I did quit and focused on just the next step. I realized I didn’t need to know how to create the big dream, I needed to start by making choices that were more aligned for me NOW. So I started by taking a step in the direction of doing work I loved, which led me to making that move to Kenya in 2013. And volunteering full time while having an online income. 

The path was not a logical, linear one and it took me four years. But I’m sure now it was the fastest path. I got there through synchronicities and chance meetings. The next step was always put before me as soon as I was ready for it. So, all I kept doing was getting ready for the next step. Aligning to it.  

What I realized was that my purpose was emerging. It wasn’t something that I had to figure out or know. I realized that, if I’m following the wisdom of my body and following my truth, then I’m going to meet the people that I need to meet to help me create the life I truly desire.. 
 

So Step 1 is to create inner core stability, getting in touch with your Truth and not what your mind thinks you should do. Your mind is filled with all of the beliefs you chose to accept over the years that will filter and limit you. It’s important to come back to the wisdom, the intuitive wisdom, the insights, that wisdom of your inner child that knows what they want and trusts that knowing.  
 

So society represses and oppresses, and says, “Make the safe decisions, don’t do anything too risky. Don’t follow your heart. Trust your mind, think about the pros and cons.

Instead, trust your heart to guide you and let your logic support you along the journey. Let your logic support your heart, not oppress and suppress it.
 

The invitation of this post is to reconnect to that deep knowing within you, within your heart, within your gut, your instincts, your intuition, what you know beyond logic, beyond thoughts, and to really surrender into that, even in the face of a society that wants you to fall in line. That wants to reward you for playing the game that they want you to play. 
 

And to build up your core stability to live in the unknown. Because following your heart is often going to guide you off the known path of pros and cons, the path of what you can determine and predict with logic. Your heart sometimes will guide you to a situation that doesn’t make sense. But it will in hindsight. And you’ll realize your mind never could have plotted that course. It only would have overcomplicated it and kept you stuck.
 

From your core stability in self emerges core stability in your relationships. And this is really, really important. Your relationships are in your life to help bolster your core stability. Your friendships, your intimate partnerships, your business collaborations, your team member, members, teammates, they’re all there to find the holes in your core stability so you can strengthen it and create more adn more centeredness in more and more circumstances. Because it’s one thing to find your core stability when you’re by yourself. But then what happens when you get a partner or collaborator or potential opportunityand now you’re interacting with other personalities. And now there’s tension and there are triggers and all these things. 
 

That’s the universe saying , “Oh, you think you’re stable? You think you’ve got your core stability, you think you’re centered? You think you’ve found your way? What about now? What about now? What about now? What about with this person? What if this person says this, what if you get this opportunity and handle it this way? It’s all there to strengthen your core stability. Because to really live out your purpose, it’s about being aligned regardless of the circumstances around you. And having more and more moments where you’re aligned to your Truth and not taken off your game and into the ego.

 
And the more you Align to your Truth, the more you’re you’re going to energetically attract, without even knowing it, the people that are going to help you get clear about what you need, what you desire, what boundaries you need, and how you work with people in order to stay in your center. They are there to help you refine so you can be the person your here to be that lets your dreams move through you. That lets your purpose move through you.

All the people in your life are helping you refine so that your purpose can continue to emerge moment by moment through you. This is why trying to take a “big leap” is pointless. You can’t skip the journey. And trying to take the big leap either delays the journey OR requires a great sacrifice in health, mental, emotional, and/or physical that isn’t sustainable. It’s important to ALIGN first. . And your relationships, challenges, and all the things you’ve been through are to help you refine how you can take responsibility for staying aligned. To notice where you blame the other, where you blame your relationships for being off your center. And to take that power back. And build your core stability.

Because what emerges when you have really aligned relationships, where the boundaries are clear, and you’re clear and you’re able to stay centered no matter what the other person is doing, is your purpose … and with so much more ease. When you’re aligned and centered, you can connect with the right people in the right way so that you’re not doing all the work yourself. Now if you just tried to force your purpose when you don’t even have individual core stability, it’s going to be an uphill battle. You’re going to have to use the techniques society taught you to force it and try to figure it all out with your mind and use your willpower to try to make it happen. And that’s where the health sacrifice comes in. Instead, remove the resistance first.

 And this process is cyclical. So I’m not suggesting to wait until you’ve done all the alignment work before you start living out your purpose. Live the next step that emerges through you now. That will lead to the next step. Remember, your purpose emerges one step at a time. So as you align yourself, align one particular relationship so more of your purpose can flow and on and on and on. 

If this post resonated with you, I invite you to join the “Human Design Applied” Facebook Group where you’ll find support and inspiration to embody your Human Design, align to your truth, and trust yourself like never before!