Have you been feeling lost recently? Are you unsure what your life purpose is or how to figure it out? It’s overwhelming ay. Don’t worry, you’re not alone, many feel the same.
In this article, we’ll look at what the experts say about finding your purpose and briefly mention what’s helping me.
Disclosure:
I am not a professional in any way, nor is this advice. It’s just information I’ve found useful in helping me look for my life’s purpose. This post may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase through my links, I may receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
Why Are You Feeling Directionless In Life?
Most young adults I encountered and heard on social media have said something along the lines of “I have no idea what I am doing with my life”.
We feel lost and directionless. ‘Finding my purpose in life’ is becoming more and more overwhelming.
We don’t even know what to choose for dinner tonight let alone choose that one thing to do for the rest of our lives!
If you’re feeling trapped, lost, aimless and directionless it’s worth reading this article on a quarter-life crisis. It goes more in-depth about why you could be feeling that way and how to overcome it.
Things You Can Start Doing To Find Your Purpose In Life
1. Discover Who You Are
In a TEDx Talk, Adam Leipzig said to find your purpose you must know these things – “Who you are, what you do, who you do it for, what those people want and need and how they change as a result”. His point was that by knowing who you are and how you can provide service to others, you will find fulfilment in life. Happiness comes from helping others and I believe that’s where one of everyone’s purposes in life.
2. Find Your ‘Passion’
I have learned that one of the first steps to finding your purpose in life is to find out your passion. As a motivational speaker and author Mel Robbins says “What energises you”. She believes ‘Passion’ is another word for energy.
For some of us, it is difficult to know our ‘passion’ for various reasons. However, if you think about ‘what energies you’ it’s easier to know.
For instance, motivating and helping others energises me. I immediately feel happier and more energised. Write a long list of what energises you, you may find your answer.
4. Think About How You Can Help Others
I’m sure you heard the saying ” Happiness is in giving not receiving” it’s true.
Think about where your strengths are and how you can use them to help others. You don’t have to make a big difference in the world. Even If you could help just one person, I’m certain it will make you happy.
Having a purpose in life to help others will bring much joy and happiness to your life, so combine that with one of your passions to find a meaningful purpose in life.
5. Experience Things
You already most likely know this but it is so important to try out new things in order to find your purpose in life. Don’t just try things you ‘think’ you may like. Try activities, hobbies or jobs that you think you wouldn’t enjoy as much as well. You might rediscover a love for that new thing you thought you wouldn’t enjoy and you might even surprise yourself with how good you’re at it.
6. Read Personal Development Books
There’s so much research out there that strongly suggests that reading is beneficial to all of our lives.
You may say, ‘but I hate reading’. In school, we were forced to read books that we had little to no interest in. It seemed long and boring. However, If you choose to read a book that you cannot wait to find the answers to, you’ll rediscover your love for reading. That is very true for personal development or self-help books.
You never know, that one thing you incorporate into your life can help you rediscover your purpose in life.
When trying to rediscover your purpose in life It is vital you read personal development books. Please know that It is never shameful to read personal development books. There’s always room for more growth and development for each and every one of us.
7. Ask Yourself Important Questions
Ask yourself this question; “If I could do anything in this world, for the rest of my life, for free, what would it be?”.
This a powerful question I learned to ask myself. Sometimes we may say “I love doing that, yeah I enjoy that” but would you do it for free, every day?
You see, your passion or purpose in life has to have a strong sense of energy. As television presenter and author Steve Harvey said “Your gift is the thing you do the absolute best with the least amount of effort”.
You have to truly love it and naturally do it regularly. For example, do you naturally like to help others without asking for anything in return? Do you naturally like to motivate others? Read every day? Write every day? Anything you’d happily do for free every day.
8. Find Your Core Values
In The Compound Effect, Hardy says “Your core values act as your navigation system through life”.
List down all your values. For example, Self-Discipline, Productivity, Optimism, Learning, and Growth.
When you follow your inner values you stay true to yourself. When you go against your values with whatever you do, it’ll feel wrong, forced and draining.
Use your values when seeking for your purpose in life.
9. Think About What Matters To You
To rediscover your purpose you got to think about what matters to you. What would you like this world to have more of? What do you think is important? Imagine yourself in a world where you could be, have and do anything you’d wish. What would that look like? What would you do every day? Where would you be? What are the things you’d do?
Write the answers down on a piece of paper or even better, in a journal.
10. Start Setting Yourself Goals Effectively
I highly recommend, the Jim Rohn strategy for goal setting. You can find it on Youtube. His strategy is especially helpful when you’re not sure of what exactly you’d want. This strategy helps you identify your purpose.
The Tony Robbins blog entitled ‘What Is My Purpose‘ suggests putting ‘purpose before goals’. It says “The goals you work toward must always be based on finding your purpose”. Be sure to know exactly why you’d like to achieve a certain goal.
Write your goals down. Make a mood board of your new goals. Research suggests that written goals or mood boards drastically increase the chance of success.
How To Make A Mood Board For Your Goals
To make a Mood board of your goals, print aesthetically pleasing and encouraging pictures related to your goals and stick them onto a board. Once that’s done, display the board somewhere where you’ll be able to see it all the time. You can then use this board to visualise yourself achieving your goals every day.
Make sure to then make your own ‘Goals Action Plan’. A plan for anything really, already determines how likely you’ll be successful. Therefore, make sure to plan how you’ll go about achieving your goals as well.
12. Think About Your WHY
Having a valid, motivating, purposeful reason or WHY for whatever you do is so important and immediately determines how successful you’ll be.
Author and inspirational speaker Simon Sinek in ‘Start With Why’ elegantly explains how having a purposeful reason is so important in business and is equally as important when setting goals or choosing a purpose for your lifetime.
Your WHY for anything you do will make your purpose crystal clear and more meaningful. It will also help you to keep going no matter what obstacles you encounter.
13. Choose Your Purpose In Life
You make up your purpose in life! Yes, that’s right. You choose what you want your purpose to be.
Many people hunt for their ‘Purpose In Life’ but they never find it. That’s because they haven’t learned that they can choose it. For instance, I choose that my purpose in life is to motivate and teach others.
Once you have learned about what you like and want out of life, choose your purpose!
Common Questions
Can You Change Your Purpose In Life?
Please remember that your ‘Purpose in Life’, goals or anything can be changed! We’re always evolving and sometimes we realise whatever we thought was right for us at a given time, is no longer important or desirable. You can tweak it or completely change it.
Can You Have More Than One Purpose In A Lifetime?
Yes, you can definitely have more than one purpose. For instance, one can be that you teach others and the other could be that you make comedy videos to bring some laughter to other people’s day. I just thought of the most random purposes but you get the gist.
Some say “My problem is that I want to do a lot of things, I can’t just decide that one thing to do for the rest of my life” or “I have more than one passion”. That is why we can have more than one purpose in a lifetime! Many successful people have more than one.
What Does God Say About Our Purpose in Life?
Many people search for what God says about our purpose in this lifetime. However, as religion can be a sensitive topic, please feel free to consider it or not. It’s all up to you.
The Bible says that God had a purpose for all mankind.
When God created the first human couple, he told them what his purpose was for them. In Genesis chapter 1, verse 28, we read “God blessed them and God said to them, ‘Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”
God intended for humans to live forever happily in paradise while taking care of animals. However, the first human couple chooses to rebel against God and things change.
That doesn’t mean God’s purpose has changed for us! In the Bible, God promises to undo all the damage and gives us that hope again.
The Bible talks about the wonderful future God promises for us. It says “And no resident will say I am sick. The people dwelling in the land will be pardoned for their error” (Isaiah 33:24) It also says “And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4).
God has a lovely purpose for us. What a wonderful picture to imagine!
I hope this article finds you well and has some useful insights to get you started on a purposeful life journey. I wish you all the best!
with love,
Nikol
