Finding Your Purpose In Life: Understanding The 7 Levels Deep Exercise

I hear it everywhere, in every podcast, every speech, every movie. Find your purpose, and everything else falls into place. They make it sound like opening a box. Like purpose is a thing you just pick up and then you're done.

But it's not a thing. It's not easy. If it were, everyone would have it. I look around and that's not what I see.

I see people lost. Confused. Walking through their days with no direction, just checking boxes until the next thing comes along. That's not a life I want, and it's not the life I want for you.

There are some fortunate individuals, however, who perhaps by chance or luck or something else were able to find their purpose; their “why”; early on. Those are exceptions to the general rule.

Thankfully, the general rule need no longer be set in stone. You may not know it yet, but you have the power to effectively change your life. You have the power to find your purpose. And one of the many ways you can do this is by following the 7 Levels Deep Exercise.

What Is the 7 Levels Deep Exercise?

The 7 Levels Deep Exercise is a series of deep and philosophical questions that intend to draw out hidden thoughts, feelings, and emotions from the person doing the exercise; with the end goal of leading said person to find out his or her “why” about a specific aspect of life.

The “why?” in this case can be interpreted in several ways, but it all boils down to leading the person to find their purpose.

Why Do I Need to Find My Purpose?

Having a clear understanding of “purpose” is crucial to living a balanced, healthy, and successful life. While it may be true that success is capable of varying interpretations and can be subjected to multiple perspectives, it cannot be denied that to reach your version of success, having a purpose is essential. After all, how can you know if you’ve reached something if you did not know what you wanted to reach or achieve in the first place?

Purpose gives us direction; a goal to strive towards. Purpose also gives us courage. When we have a purpose and are infused with it, we will stretch our comfort zone. While in our possession, purpose also serves to dictate how we do or act in society, how we lead our lives each day, and how we view or perceive life in general.

What Is the Process?

As the name suggests, the 7 Levels Deep Exercise is done by simply asking yourself 7 questions. Companies and institutions that employ this exercise often modify and change their line of questioning to suit their goals and needs, but essentially, these questions boil down to the following:

• First, ask yourself what you want to do or achieve in life. At this stage, you can answer or interpret the question in any way you want to
• Second, ask yourself why this is important to you.
• Third, whatever answer you chose to give for the second step, ask yourself again why that particular response is important to you.
• Fourth, ask yourself again why that response is something that you deem important.
• Finally, do this line of questioning three more times, or otherwise, a fifth, sixth, and seventh time.

As you move along down the line; or as you go “deeper” down the levels; you may notice that these are not simple questions, and finding an answer may prove difficult. When you feel lost or become confused, don’t fret! This simply means that you are now opening the doors to your mind, to your heart, and to your emotions to paths that you most likely never knew you had. This path is a road of discovery and enlightenment, and you would be surprised what you discover as you go deeper along the path.

What Is the Best Way To Do These Exercises?

Before you jump on this path, be aware and careful that just like any path in life, you may become susceptible to falling into traps or pitfalls.

To minimize the risk of falling prey to these traps or pitfalls, it’s crucial that you’re completely honest with yourself. Lying about your responses benefits no one and showing off serves no important purpose. Be sincere, take your time, and do not be afraid to be too emotional about your responses. The responses need to come from your heart, not your head. The responses need to resonate with you at a visceral level.

Also, when presented with these questions, it’s best that you get someone else to ask them for you. Get a loved one, a coach, a special partner, a family member, or any other person that you trust. This way, you may find it easier to be forthright.

As you dig deeper within yourself, you may sometimes find yourself trapped in an endless loop of “whys”. If the same line of questioning becomes too repetitive to the point that your answers in all the stages are simply becoming recurrent and repetitive, then try to change your line of questioning to “what” or “how”, instead of “why”.

Finally, note that there’s no time constraint to doing this exercise. If it takes you days to answer the questions as you go deeper along the levels, then do so. The most important factor to consider is finding that mine of emotions stored deep within you that only you can find, and no one else.

Take the Next Step Further. Start Today!

In my book about “The Smartest Person in the Room”, I used the 7 Levels Deep Exercise to formulate my own methodology in creating new and improved ways on how to develop better technical leaders; a method I call “The Secure Methodology”.

Under this methodology, I outline 7 important steps that may help individuals develop better interpersonal, leadership, and life skills. In coming up with these steps, I made sure to use the 7 Levels Deep Exercise as my foundation.

You can learn more about these steps and about my Secure Methodology in my book, “The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity”, available on Amazon and other fine book stores.