Soul Curriculum vs Ego Goals: How to Find Your True Purpose by Listening Within

What if the path to fulfillment, meaning, and purpose is letting go of what the ego wants and following what your soul wants?

Mic drop.

I know this may sound like a crazy concept and that I'm stretching your mind, but bear with me. In this blog post, I'll unpack the difference between what I call your soul curriculum and your ego curriculum—and why going with the former is the key to living a life that feels completely aligned with you. ​💗

🎧 You can also listen to the full podcast episode for a deeper dive into this topic.

The Ego and the Soul: Two Different Operating Systems

Before I explain the difference between the soul curriculum vs ego goals, we need to understand the soul and the ego from a spiritual and psychological perspective so that we're on the same page.

Let’s Define Ego

Your ego is the identification with thoughts, behaviours, roles, and feelings.

I am ... how much money I have in my bank account.

I am... my anger / my sadness / my happiness.

I am... a mother / father / wife / son / smart /

I am... a lead manager / the smart one / the one who always helps.

The ego constantly compares, proves, and seeks validation (bless). It believes that if it gets that one more thing, it’ll finally be happy.

In contrast with the soul, the ego divides things into right & wrong, it always wants to be right and will go to lengths to prove its case. I'm sure you're familiar with this - anytime you find yourself trying to prove to someone that you're right and they're wrong, that's a sign that your ego is taking over, lol. 😂​ Your soul doesn't care about this stuff, but the ego does - big time.

The ego's main tool is the mind.

It's not concerned whether the soul learns its lessons or not, only thinks about fulfilling its own desires ("what I want, what I need, how this affects me, what I deserve, what I don't have...").

Let’s Define Soul

The soul isn't just something mystical, religious, or spiritual.

According to the American Psychological Association, the soul is "the nonphysical aspect of a human being, considered responsible for the functions of mind and individual personality and often thought to live on after the death of the physical body."

You've probably had the experience that you're more than just your mind and body - in fact, most of us sense that we're human beings with a soul.

From the lens of spiritual psychology, taught at the Worldwide center for the practice of Spiritual Psychology, University of Santa Monica—you are not human being with souls; you are a soul having a human experience.

Now the important part: the Soul / Essence doesn’t separate experiences into good or bad, right or wrong - every experience is a learning opportunity. It sees the world through the eyes of unconditional love and infinite compassion. It’s not concerned with specific outcomes in the physical world reality.

The gateway to your soul is your intuition and direct knowing.

The Physical Reality and the Spiritual Reality

In their book Loyalty to Your Soul, Ron and Mary Hulnick, Ph.D., founding faculty of University of Santa Monica (mentioned above), differentiate the physical reality and spiritual reality.

The physical world is the realm of the ego. It's what most people think life is about - striving toward goals, moving toward positive experiences, accumulating material and financial wealth, status, etc.

It's what you experience through your 5 senses and it's geared for the mind and body.

The spiritual reality, on the other hand, has nothing to do with success in the physical world - it's all about spiritual progression. This is the realm of the soul where you're constantly:

• evolving toward consciously knowing who you are and why you’re here

• learning to live in ways that demonstrate enhanced levels of love and compassion for yourself and others

• becoming aware of your spiritual curriculum and are using all of life’s experiences to further your spiritual evolution, becoming more and more aware of your nature as a loving being

And here's the indicator of your spiritual growth: you notice that you manage a challenging situation with more love and compassion than you did in the past.

Ego Goals vs Soul Curriculum

Your ego often has a Costco approach to life, as Tosha Silver, author of Outrageous Opennes and Change Me Prayers, likes to describe it.

What does she mean by that?

Grabbing what looks shiny, what other people have, what’s trendy, what's socially desired. It wants what it wants—and it wants it now. But no matter how much it acquires, it’s never quite enough.

It comes up with "nice-to-have" / "supposed-to-have" goals and decides it's own timelines regarding when it thinks it would be best for it to get there.

Since it's not as smart or all-knowing it believes it is, a lot of these plans don't work out as it had imagined or they end up needing a lot of heavy lifting, lots of energy and ultimately aren't as fulfilling as it thought they were going to be.

So that's ego's curriculum - plans, goals and ideas your ego keeps coming up with.

Then there's the soul's curriculum. Ron and Mary Hulnick, Ph.D., describe it like this 👇​

“From a spiritual viewpoint Earth is a school that Souls come to for the evolution of consciousness. All of us who are here earned the right to be enrolled as students, and there’s a spiritual agenda or curriculum for each person. And it’s really quite an accomplishment to be here, a fact that’s largely unknown to most of the world’s population.”

Some people learn about to fulfill basic survival needs, some about families, boundaries, responsibilities, communities. Others learn about creative expression, service, altruism, ...

From a spiritual perspective, your soul's curriculum includes two aspects:

• Your soul's purpose (giving): gifts you're here to share, being who you authentically are, giving / being in service to others

• Your soul's tasks (receiving): lessons you're here to learn

🎧 Want the full breakdown? Listen to the entire podcast episode here.

Purpose Isn’t a Destination—It’s You Authentically Expressing Yourself

Your soul-led purpose is about authentic expression. It's really quite simple: you came to this world with certain gifts and have been given everything you need to reach your full potential: the connection to your essence, your unique talents and your unique way of seeing the world. Your job is to trust that expressing those gifts will bring the right opportunities.

Tosha Silver has a great concept of letting the divine take the lead. This essentially means that you trust that there's a higher intelligence that knows what's best for you, what you came here to do.

This way of living is about surrendering control, letting go of the ego’s plan, following what feels aligned, and trusting that whatever is unfolding is always for your highest good and the highest good of all concerned.

And here’s the twist: when you start aligning with your soul curriculum, things fall into place. You don’t hustle. You don’t push. The right people and situations show up like magic. You get the sense that you are in flow. That everything that's happening in life is for you, not against you.

Why Some Desires Don’t Come True—and That’s a Good Thing

Ever noticed that no matter how many vision boards you create or affirmations you repeat, some dreams just don’t happen?

There’s a Sanskrit term called prarabdha karma, which refers to the lessons a soul comes to learn in this life.

That’s why you can want something really badly and still not get it. Maybe it’s not aligned with your soul’s growth. Maybe it's not meant for you to have it in this lifetime. Maybe it’s just not the right time. Maybe there’s something more important to learn first.

Here’s the paradox: when you stop chasing ego goals and trust your soul’s deeper longing, life gets lighter. You may not get everything your ego wanted, but you’ll get what you actually need and what's meant for you. And you’ll feel more fulfilled, happy and aligned than ever.

Soul Alignment Feels Like This

When you’re following your soul curriculum, not your ego's desires:

• You feel alive, creative, joyful, fulfilled

• Life feels easy - you don't have to push or hustle

• The right people and opportunities come into your life

• You handle difficulties with more grace

• You trust the timing

• You stop comparing your path to anyone else’s

• You don’t need the Audi A8 to feel worthy 😉

There’s less "I have to have this!" or “What’s next?” The ego desires tend to leave you empty and unfulfilled, while soul's desires keep on giving - before, during and while you're following them.

🎧 Want the full breakdown? Listen to the full episode here.

Final Thoughts

What your soul wants may be different than what your ego wants or what the people you look up to or compare yourself to want - and that’s ok! You’re meant to do YOU. 💗​

Maybe you don't want to be a parent, a team leader or own a house.

To support you in recognising the difference between your soul’s desires and ego desires, listen to my podcast episode on manifestation.

Your soul already knows who you are and where it wants to go. All you have to do is listen and follow the nudges.

When you do that and shift from ego goals to following your soul curriculum—life gets simpler. Richer. Not always easier, but more aligned.

So here’s your invitation: try on this perspective. Just for a week. Notice what happens and how you feel when you follow your ego's desires and what happens when you follow your soul's desires. And most importantly, notice how it serves others when you live from this place.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: Soul Curriculum vs. Ego Curriculum for a deeper dive into this transformational framework.

Ready to take the next step? 

I offer transformational coaching programs to help you find your purpose and navigate career and life transitions with clarity and confidence.

✨ GET UNSTUCK SPECIAL: 4-week starter coaching package to help you get unstuck

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Want to know which program is a perfect fit for you? 👇​

Book a complimentary clarity session here

From my heart to yours

Tajda 🌷​🫶​

📚​ Sources:

• H. Ronald Hulnick, Ph.D., Mary Hulnick, Ph.D. Loyalty to Your Soul: The Heart of Spiritual Psychology, Hay House, Inc (2011).

• Tosha Silver. Outrageous Openness: Letting the Divine Take the Lead. Atria Books (2014).

• Tosha Silver. Change Me Prayers: The Hidden Power of Spiritual Surrender. Kindle Edition. 

• Tosha Silver. It's Not Your Money: How to Live Fully from Divine Abundance. Kindle Edition.

Author

Tajda Glazer

Professional Life & Career Coach, Psychological Consultant and host of the podcast "What If It Is Possible?"

I'm a lawyer turned Professional Life & Career Coach and I've helped hundreds of clients go from feeling lost, anxious, burned out and stuck on the hamster wheel, to finding their purpose and turning their dream life & career into reality. I believe in making changes from the inside out, in a way that feels easeful and aligned with you. ✨ I host the podcast "What If It Is Possible?", mentor students in reaching their goals, and help leaders elevate their conscious leadership skills.