Feeling lost in the search for your life’s purpose? And do you wonder if you’re missing out on your true calling?
You’re not alone.
Finding your purpose in life is challenging. After all, “What is my purpose in life?” is quite a loaded question to ask yourself.
The good news?
After reading this article, you’ll have a life’s purpose.
Together, we’ll simplify the complexities of how to find your purpose. You’ll gain actionable ideas to get started on this journey to self-discovery. And, we’ll cover how to live with purpose and find meaning in everyday things.
Are you excited to live with more meaning and joy?
Then let’s dive in!
- What is the purpose of life?
- What does it mean to live with purpose?
- Why is it so hard to figure out what to do in life?
- Why is it important to find purpose in your life?
- 9 Effective ways to discover your purpose
- 6 Actionable tips for living purposefully
What is the purpose of life?
The purpose of life used to be simple: survival of our species.
But survival is no longer a problem in our modern society. So, then what exactly is the point of life?
To answer that question and understand our motivations, Maslow researched the hierarchy of needs and came to the following conclusion:
Today, the purpose of life transcends beyond mere survival. And the more AI takes over our jobs, the more we’ll ponder the meaning of life.
We can also conclude something interesting about our evolution:
As the world changes, so does the purpose of life.
Purpose is a changing concept, a fluid thing.
It constantly changes – and that’s good news. Rather than having to seek a single, ever-lasting purpose in life, it means that your purpose evolves too.
As you grow, more likely than not, so will your purpose.
This insight helps discover your calling in life because it relieves you from the pressure that’s attached to finding that one thing that you should commit to forever.
But that’s not all…
Today, the purpose of life is also a deeply personal question, with answers as unique as each individual. Besides being a decent human being, there’s no longer a one-size-fits-all concept for living with purpose.
Instead, finding and living your purpose is an ongoing journey of personal growth and self-exploration.
In that light, let’s understand the following…
What does it mean to live with a deep sense of purpose?
Living with purpose means aligning your daily actions and decisions with what truly matters to you.
It’s about being intentional in the way you live. It means you act by your personal core values, beliefs, and aspirations.
There are two components to living your purpose:
- Selfish: Doing what brings you joy or what you love to do.
- Selfless: Doing what makes a positive impact on others.
You know that you’ve found your purpose when you find something worth fighting for that leaves a positive footprint on those around you.
And there are many ways to bring your purpose to fruition…
Most people look for big ways, like major career achievements or becoming interplanetary species to save the human race from going extinct.
However, you can also find purpose in small acts of kindness or by becoming an active participant in your community. And consider the Japanese term Ikigai, which refers to finding purpose through the pursuit of growth and joy.
Even something as simple as smiling more often is a powerful way to live a more joyful and impactful life.
So, purpose comes in many shapes and forms.
And, your purpose is highly personal.
But then…
Why is it so hard to figure out what to do in life?
Finding your life’s purpose is challenging because we tend to focus on a one-time discovery, rather than viewing it as a continuous journey of self-exploration and personal growth.
In addition, there are other reasons why people struggle to find meaning:
- The concept of “Life Purpose”: As you grow and change, so do your interests, making a fixed life purpose unrealistic and difficult to pin down. Instead of only searching for the one grand mission, wonder what meaningful (small) things you could do with your time.
- Certainty and comfort zones: You may crave certainty more than others. I know I do. If so, it naturally keeps you inside your comfort zone, hindering growth. Fear of the unknown may keep you in an unfulfilling job and unhealthy relationships. One of the best antidotes is building the habit of stepping outside your comfort zone.
- Self-limiting beliefs and narratives: The stories you tell yourself, like fear of failure or not being good enough, can lead to self-sabotage and hinder your pursuit of purpose.
- External pressure and validation: Societal expectations about what it means to be successful can cloud your judgment and lead you away from your true passions and interests.
- Overwhelming choices: In a world with endless possibilities, the paradox of choice makes it difficult to decide what path to pursue.
- Fear of commitment: You may worry about missing out on other opportunities if you choose one direction. However, the paradox is that you’ll learn much faster through commitment – which will enable you to make better decisions and choices later.
View your purpose as an ever-evolving thing that you must keep exploring. Reflect and then adapt as you learn about yourself and the world.
Simply said: Don’t wait to find your purpose – start living it today.
But…
Why is it important to find purpose in your life?
Finding your purpose in life is important because it’s not just about achieving success in traditional terms; it’s about living a meaningful and joyful life.
Here’s why living with purpose leads to a more fulfilling life:
- Enhances well-being: Pursuing purpose contributes to happiness and life satisfaction, improving mental and emotional well-being. Science even shows that those who live with purpose live longer.
- Provides direction: Having a purpose gives clarity and direction, enabling you to make decisions that align with your values and goals.
- Boosts resilience: Knowing why you do what you do makes you more resilient in the face of challenges, setbacks, and adversity. If Frankl used it to survive Auschwitz, imagine what it can do for you.
- Improves relationships: Purposeful living connects you with people who share or support your values and aspirations, leading to more meaningful and fulfilling relationships.
- Leads to growth: Pursuing any kind of purpose, even if that involves imperfect action, accelerates personal growth, self-awareness, and self-discovery. It’s much better than sitting on the sidelines.
- Increases motivation: Living with purpose fuels excitement, empowering you to set and achieve rewarding goals.
Now that we’ve explored the complexities and significance of discovering your life’s purpose, let’s uncover…
9 Effective ways to discover your purpose
While living a purposeful life is more than finding your one grand mission, discovering such a calling can provide direction and satisfaction.
Now, a personal mission can be big or small.
It can be about changing the world or about making a small positive impact on the people you love. There’s no right or wrong approach. Instead, each option can lead to a more intentional and fulfilling life.
Finding a pursuit that’s meaningful to YOU is what matters most.
Just remember:
Purpose = personal joy + social impact.
While there’s no single purpose for everyone, it’s worthwhile to start with exercises for self-exploration. The idea is to gain self-awareness and uncover what potential pursuits are worthwhile for you.
So let’s get started.
#1: Engage in self-reflection and inner exploration
Frequent self-reflection increases self-awareness. It helps you identify who you are, what truly matters to you, and how to best achieve your goals.
It’s a key habit for finding and living your purpose in life.
Here are 3 introspective exercises you can explore:
- Journal regularly: Write about your thoughts, feelings, and experiences to gain clarity. You can also write about your goals or any problem you see in the world that you would like to change. And if you feel stuck, then take a look at these inspiring self-reflection questions.
- Ponder your thoughts: Spend time in solitude and quietness for an inner conversation with yourself. This can help you understand your deeper truths and desires. For example, I like to go for a long hike in nature by myself. But you can also opt for daily or weekly meditation sessions to explore certain questions or thoughts.
- Stream-of-consciousness writing: Start and keep writing down anything that comes to your mind. Don’t edit your thoughts; just write them down. Aim for about 2 pages per day or 750 words. This exercise was popularized by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way.
Self-reflection is an unmissable habit that can guide your ongoing quest for personal growth and self-discovery. It helps you to stay aligned or adapt to the evolving needs of your purpose.
Need more guidance? Here are the best guided journals to try.
#2: Think about what brings you joy
Pursuing what makes you happy reveals your intrinsic motivations and pathways for a fulfilling life. Building your life around what brings you joy leads to more happiness, well-being, and success.
Here’s how you can find more joy:
- Explore your passions and interests: Reflect on what activities energize and excite you. And engage with activities that intrigue you.
- Try new things: You don’t know all your passions. There are just too many avenues you haven’t explored yet. So keep experimenting with different interests, activities, and experiences. You might just discover an entirely new side of yourself.
- Cultivate meaningful connections: Invest in building and nurturing relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. Strong social bonds are a key source of joy and can provide insights into your purpose.
Design your life around doing things that you enjoy doing – with whom you enjoy doing it. Engaging in joyful activities can provide great insights into what’s most meaningful to you.
#3: Discover your competitive edge
Leveraging your skills and talents increases your persistence to stick with challenging tasks, which is key to success and joy. In addition, recognizing your strengths can reveal where you can make your best contributions.
Here’s how you can uncover your strengths:
- Personality tests: Take an assessment to learn about your positive personality traits, strengths, and how they apply in different settings like your career, relationships, and personal life.
- Personal strengths: Brainstorm and do exercises to find what you’re good at. You can also take one of the top 5 strength assessment tests.
- Skill assessment: List your skills and identify how you can leverage them to take your life to the next level.
- Personal SWOT Analysis: Use the popular SWOT analysis technique to uncover your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
- Reflect on compliments: What do others (frequently) compliment and praise you for? The answer reveals insights into your natural abilities, which you may easily overlook. Also, gather clues by asking feedback from your friends, family, and colleagues.
Understanding and leveraging your talents and advantages helps you in defining a purpose that suits your best qualities.
#4: Consider what’s most important to you
What’s something worth fighting for?
Understanding what matters to you is crucial as it lays the foundation for a purpose-driven life. It’s what drives you forward. Finding a worthwhile cause inspires you at a much deeper level than mere motivation and willpower.
What comes to mind already?
In addition, here are 3 ideas to explore:
- List your core values: Identify and prioritize what matters most to you, whether it’s freedom, creativity, respect, passion, community, ambition, love, collaboration, etc. Create a top 5 list of values.
- Evaluate your dreams: Your aspirations and life goals provide clues to what’s most important to you. In addition, wonder what you would do if money were no object.
- Consider what bothers you: If you had a magic wand, what problem would you make disappear? What issues trigger you? You can look for challenges you faced in your personal life, problems you see in your direct environment, or the world’s biggest issues.
The areas that are most important to you reveal clues that can help you find your purpose and live a more fulfilling life.
#5: Turn your struggles into purpose
Your biggest struggles can become your greatest superpowers.
Here are a few examples:
- If you overcame addiction, you can become an empathetic advocate or support leader to help others on their path to recovery.
- If you overcame obesity, you might feel passionate about healthy living and weight loss, and become an inspiring example for others.
- If you overcame trauma or abuse, you might feel passionate about turning your pain into purpose by helping others heal and find strength.
- If you overcame social anxiety, you might feel passionate about helping others improve their communication and relationships.
Even if you’re in the process of overcoming your struggles, you can already share your journey and inspire others. Not only can it provide a strong sense of purpose, but it can also motivate you to stick to your own commitments.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a small or large struggle.
If you feel passionate about overcoming any of the struggles, it can serve as your greatest purpose in life.
Here are some actionable ideas:
- Reflect on past challenges: Identify your hardships and the lessons and strengths gained from those difficult experiences.
- Find inspiration in struggles: Despite the pain, what was meaningful about this experience? What positive lessons did you learn about yourself and the world? And how did it make you stronger as a person?
- Leverage your pain to help others: How can you leverage your pain and struggles into inspiration for others? How can you use your experience to contribute to others facing similar situations?
Transforming your pain and struggles into purpose can become one of the most powerful sources of personal purpose and inspiration.
#6: Find purpose in everyday things
Purpose can be found in tiny everyday actions as much as in grand achievements. In fact, recognizing the importance of daily activities are essential to experiencing a deep sense of purpose and fulfillment.
Ultimately, it’s small decisions and actions that lead to big results.
Here’s how you can find purpose in the small stuff:
- Be present in the moment: Stop continuously distracting yourself. Pay attention to what you’re doing, especially in social settings. Experience life without feeling the need to always occupy your mental space with distractions.
- Mindful reflection: Start and end each day with a few minutes of quiet reflection. Ask yourself what small steps you can take today to live with intention. And at the end of the day, wonder what gave you joy.
- Explore new experiences: Dedicate time to explore new hobbies, interests, activities, and volunteering opportunities. New experiences can provide self-insights that can lead to grand ideas. Plus, it makes your life more fun.
- Set small, achievable goals: Create weekly goals that align with your broader interests and values. Not only does taking action provide a sense of accomplishment, but it also helps you understand what brings you joy and fulfillment.
Find purpose in everyday moments to experience a more fulfilling life.
#7: Write down your life story
Writing your life story can reveal common patterns and themes that guide you toward your greater purpose.
It’s a great way to gain insights about yourself, your journey, and your future direction. It can uncover the pain and struggles you’ve already overcome. And it provides insights into your achievements and successes.
Here are actionable ideas for writing your life narrative:
- Explore the past: Reflect on significant events, how you overcame them, what you’ve learned, and how they’ve shaped you.
- Assess the present: Consider your current situation, feelings, and goals. What are you happy about and what would you like to change?
- Envision the future: Write about your aspirations and where you see yourself going. Visualizing your future can provide direction.
Writing your life story can be a useful tool to better understand past events and your future direction.
#8: Create a vision for your life
While the past can provide insights into your purpose, so can your aspirations for the future.
Having a clear vision provides a target you can aim for.
In fact, I’m more future-oriented than past-oriented. Although I reflect on my past experiences, I find more joy in envisioning what fulfilling my purpose looks like.
Here are 3 ideas:
- Create a personal mission statement, which is a concise expression of what you aim to achieve. For example, you could embark on a quest to eliminate obesity, help others reduce debt, or like me, empower others to live a more meaningful life that’s true to themselves.
- Create a personal vision statement, which is a vivid and inspiring description of what you want your future to look like. It includes aspects like your character, career goals, relationships, and other areas of life.
- Create a personal value statement, which is your personal philosophy that outlines your most important core values and principles. In other words, what do you stand for?
Defining each of these statements can provide insights that serve as your inner compass to find and live your purpose in life.
#9: Ask for feedback
While your true purpose has to come from within, others can offer valuable perspectives. Others can help you uncover your blind spots. For example, you may be blind to your talents because they come naturally to you.
Consider the following ideas:
- Seek feedback from all angles: Ask friends, family, colleagues, or mentors for their thoughts on your strengths and potential.
- Consider 2-sided feedback: Ask for feedback about your positives as well as for areas for personal growth. While the former provides the greatest insights for finding purpose, the latter might uncover surprising ideas or at least, empower continuous self-improvement.
- Reflect on compliments: What do you get frequent compliments about? This kind of feedback can help you uncover your natural talents.
Notice patterns in what others say about you. These patterns can reveal a clear and objective view of your life’s purpose.
Bonus step: Take a step back
Did you act on all the exercises?
Did you self-reflect, uncover your joys and competitive edge, write your life story, ponder your past, and daydream about your future?
If you really want to discover your grand purpose in life, you should.
Put time and effort into these exercises. Even though you might not find your purpose right away, it prepares you for the final but important step:
Take a step back to stop thinking about your purpose.
My best breakthroughs happen when I stop thinking and release any mental tension. Stumbling upon brilliant ideas in the shower is a great example.
Stepping away allows insights to come to you.
But it requires an intense period of work first.
So do the exercises. Crunch your brain. You might struggle to find your purpose immediately and experience frustration.
That’s okay.
Then, take a step back and stop focusing on your purpose. Instead, engage in self-care and joyful activities. Go for long walks or take a spa day.
Give your brain time to create new neural connections.
It might take you a day, a week, or several months.
But the key is to alternate periods of high intense effort, thinking, and taking action, with periods of rest and relaxation.
Yin and yang.
That’s the final thing you must know about finding your purpose in life.
That said, you can already start living with purpose right now…
6 Actionable tips for living purposefully
While you may still seek to find your big calling in life, you can already start living a more purposeful life today.
You see, living with purpose isn’t about waiting for an epiphany moment.
Life’s about living and experiencing it.
The paradox is that once you start living a more intentional life, the grand revelation of your life’s purpose will happen faster.
Action breeds clarity.
Regardless of where you are in your quest, here are several actionable tips to infuse your life with purpose, personal fulfillment, and positive contributions.
#1: Be your authentic self
The most important life lesson I’ve learned is to be myself.
It’s the key to everything you desire: more success, better relationships, more joy, more happiness, more fulfillment, more purpose, and the list goes on.
It’s impactful.
Being authentic allows you to live in harmony with yourself, avoiding the stress and dissatisfaction that comes from seeking external validation.
If you want to live a purposeful life, be true to yourself first.
Actionable ideas:
- Live your values: Regularly take time to think about what values are most important to you and how you can live them in your daily life.
- Pursue genuine goals: Do you want a six-pack because it makes you feel good, or just to impress others? Does a $60K watch genuinely make you feel good, or is it just for status? Why the heck do you want to become a millionaire? In other words: Are your goals for you – or merely to impress others? If it’s the latter, change them.
- Express your true self: Not everyone will like you, who cares? If you’re being your authentic self, you’ll attract the right people. In addition, your connection with those people will provide much more fulfillment than having a gazillion fake and meaningless relationships.
Embracing your authentic self is the cornerstone of a fulfilling life.
#2: Engage with your community
Participating in your community provides a sense of fulfillment and belonging.
And there are two great options in the modern world:
- You can engage in your (physical) local community, which is useful because it’s your direct environment.
- Alternatively, engaging in online communities is powerful because you can find your unique tribe; those who care about similar things. For example, you might care most about niche topics like cryptocurrency, chess, or playing the bongo.
Either way, join a community and become an active participant, whether that’s through volunteering, community gatherings, providing and attending workshops, or contributing to online forms that align with your passions.
#3: Contribute through time or money
Everyone can start giving back.
Here’s how:
- Volunteer: Dedicate time to organizations or causes that matter to you. Don’t underestimate how powerful this type of contribution is. After all, time is your most valuable resource.
- Donate: If possible, contribute financially to causes and initiatives that align with what’s important to you. You can start small to build the habit of contribution, even if it’s a dollar per month.
- Acts of kindness: Small contributions can make a big difference. For example, even smiling at strangers can enlighten their day and make a positive impact. You never know what ripple effect stems from it. And it’s something everyone can do right now.
You live a more fulfilling and purposeful life by giving back, no matter how small you start.
#4: Embrace challenges and uncertainty
Challenges, struggles, and pain instill meaning in life. If everything would be easy, your life would be meaningless.
This realization may shift your perspective.
It certainly helped me through setbacks and difficult times.
Understanding that challenges and uncertainty is essential for a purposeful life also unlocks the growth mindset. Rather than seeing obstacles as something to avoid, you approach them with greater confidence.
While that also means that you’ll experience more setbacks and failures, you stop viewing these events as something bad. Instead, you’ll start seeing them as essential stepping stones for success.
Purpose comes through struggles and suffering.
Although you shouldn’t inflict pain and suffering on yourself on purpose, here are actionable ideas that can benefit you:
- Step outside of your comfort zone: Pursue new challenges and try new things. And if you’re being presented with something that scares you, that’s the sign of a great opportunity for growth.
- Learn from failures: Society praises success but demonizes the necessary mistakes and setbacks to achieve it. There’s no success without failure. Read the best biographies of successful entrepreneurs if you don’t believe me. Failures are unavoidable if you want to experience all the joys of life.
- Stay open to change: Life is uncertain. That’s also what makes life exciting. So, embrace uncertainty as a path to growth and spiritual enlightenment.
Pain, challenge, failures, setbacks, and suffering are powerful signs of personal growth – and essential for living a life of purpose and fulfillment.
#5: Surround yourself with positive and inspiring people
Your environment is a great predictor of your likelihood of success.
You see, your surroundings influence your mindset, thoughts, and beliefs. As a result, they impact your standards and the goals you set for yourself.
You can radically change your life by changing your environment.
While you can just pick up your stuff and leave for a different city, there are more subtle ways to change your environment.
One effective way is by spending more time around positive people and reducing time spent with those who hold you back or drain your energy.
Some helpful lessons I’ve learned:
- Stop dancing with vampires: Vampires are those who aren’t seeking positive change. Instead, they prefer to complain and blame. And when you want to change, they try to pull you back. While they rarely do this with bad intentions (they’re just scared to lose you if you grow as a person), it doesn’t serve you. That said, if they hold you back, you’re better off reducing (or eliminating) your time around them.
- Seek positive relationships: Find people who are on a similar journey as you. And spend more time with people who uplift and inspire you.
- Engage in uplifting communities: Once again, participating in like-minded communities, whether offline or online, brings you in contact with new people. It provides a sense of belonging. And it can help you in building a positive support network.
The people you surround yourself with make a huge impact on how you view and experience your own life. So invest in yourself by finding and bonding with people who are on a similar journey as you.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with
– Jim Rohn
#6: Gratitude
The paradox of modern success is that you’ll never feel satisfied, even if you become part of the 0,1%. That’s why recognizing and appreciating what you already have is key to a fulfilling life.
Practicing gratitude also opens you up to see and appreciate smaller pleasures, instilling meaning into your everyday life.
Here are some actionable ideas:
- Keep a gratitude journal: Regularly write down things you are grateful for. You can use minimal yet powerful tools like The Five Minute Journal.
- Celebrate your achievements – and failures: Acknowledge your successes, no matter how small. We just discussed that failures and setbacks are essential for growth, so embrace those too.
- Find joy in the small pleasures: Take a brief moment to enjoy your cup of coffee in the morning. Consider how nice it is to have a warm shower. Appreciate the fact that you can exercise. And be grateful for having access to clean water and nurturing foods.
By implementing these tips, you move towards living a purposeful life, spread positive energy, and contribute to your personal well-being.
What’s next?
We covered ways to find and live your life’s purpose. Whether it’s through your career, creative expression, or involvement in your community, purpose can be found in a grand life mission or the simplicity of everyday actions.
Remember: Purpose is highly personal.
There’s no good or bad approach. What’s most important is that you find a pursuit that’s meaningful to you, that fires you up in the morning, and that contributes positively to the lives of others.
Further resources:
- Best journals for self-reflection
- Best books about finding purpose
- Best personality tests to find your edge
Challenge: For the next week, start each day by writing down one small thing you can do that aligns with your values or brings joy – and act on it.
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