Inner Kill is not growing. Giving up on yourself. It’s taking the safe way. Always covering yourself instead of taking risks. It’s reacting. Not thinking. It’s giving up control of your life to whatever or whoever is around you. Inner Kill is the death of self-respect.
Some symptoms of Inner Kill:
- You avoid decisions.
- You daydream about early retirement.
- You talk a lot about what you’re going to do. But do nothing.
- You lay awake at nights. Sleepwalk by day.
- Unusual irritability becomes the usual.
- It takes two weekly visits to the liquor store, when once used to be enough.
- You find yourself talking to friends about the same things week after week.
The Purpose Checkup
After a certain age, many of us accept the necessity of regular physical checkups. We’re also generally willing to review our financial situation with some regularity.
So if money, medicine, and meaning are all essential to a purposeful life, we might be wise to take guidance from the financial and medical worlds and adopt the practice of a regular checkup on that third dimension to ensure that our spirit — our sense of purpose — remains healthy.
Please read each statement carefully and take a few moments to decide on a true response for yourself. Then write the number that most nearly reflects that response. The answers offer the following range of responses:
- Definitely disagree
- Somewhat disagree
- Somewhat agree
- Definitely agree
Having (Outer Life)
__ I derive satisfaction from what I have in my life.
__ I express my creativity in a number of ways.
__ I have found ways to offer my gifts and talents to the world.
__ I have a positive vision for my future.
__ I feel satisfied with my location.
__ My physical energy is vital.
__ I feel satisfied with my personal relationships.
__ Total Having score
Doing (Inner Life)
__ I follow my purpose when making major decisions.
__ I feel content when I am alone.
__ I focus and think clearly.
__ I have the courage to face my adversities.
__ I offer compassion to others readily.
__ I offer forgiveness to others easily.
__ I am growing and developing.
__ Total Doing score
Being (Spiritual Life)
__ I sense the presence of a Higher Power.
__ I have a regular spiritual practice.
__ I feel a sense of the sacred when I am in the natural world.
__ I feel a sense of gratitude for my life.
__ I maintain a balance of saving and savoring the world.
__ I invest time in making a difference to others or to the world.
__ I know what I want to be remembered for.
__ Total Being score
__ Total Purpose Checkup score
INTERPRETATION
Having (Outer Life): The dimension of your external experience and activity — how effectively you relate to the “having” choices in your life.
Doing (Inner Life): The dimension of your internal experience and inner activity — how effectively you relate to the “doing” choices in your life.
Being (Spiritual Life): The dimension of your invisible experience and spiritual activity — how effectively you relate to the “being” choices in your life.
Scoring
Your score in each section is one measure of your development in that dimension. Your total Purpose Checkup score (out of 84) gives a measure of the power of purpose you are experiencing in your life at present.
Use this checkup to check in with yourself yearly, perhaps on your birthday!