When it comes to finding your life’s purpose, every person is different. Some people inherently know their purpose, but they’re not sure how to really get it going. There might be something in their lives that brings them joy, but for some reason or another, they haven’t been able to get on the path to pursuing that passion.
Others are completely lost — they have no idea what it is that they want to do with their lives. There are others still, who may never find their purpose, because they don’t care, or they aren’t actively thinking about it. The key factor in determining which one of these camps you fit in is your level of awareness. Depending on how conscious you are of what makes you happy, finding your purpose can take you a lifetime, or months, or a matter of hours.
I recently read an article at “Think Simple Now” that offered “15 Questions to Discover Your Life Purpose.” It claimed to help you find your purpose in twenty minutes. The author guides readers to write down answers to a series of questions about what inspires and moves them. While I think this is a great tool for some people, I personally like to get a little more creative with it.
I tell my clients to use a combination of different things in order to find their purpose. Because every person is unique, I like to use their own personal thoughts and memories to help tap into their purpose.
For example: Visualize events in your past that made you really excited and happy. What exactly were you doing at that time? What feelings were you experiencing? Then, visualize yourself doing those same things now, in the present time. Does it bring about the same feelings?
Now take out a piece of paper and a pen, and start jotting down these fond memories to see if you can find a pattern. Sometimes if you look back in your past, you will find that similar events and types of people were bringing you fulfillment. As you know, thoughts and feelings create reality, so when you start bringing up these memories, it is very important to connect with the reactions that come with them.
Another way to find your purpose is trying out new things that interest you. Perhaps there’s something that you’ve always been curious about but for some reason haven’t tried.
Most importantly, learn what makes YOU happy. Use your passion as the sole reason for saying “no” to anything that does not align with your purpose. By that I mean, if someone asks you to do something, and you don’t have a desire or an obligation to do it, say “No, thank you,” and then do something that truly makes you happy. You need to learn to say no to things that don’t make you happy so that you can make room to bring the things that bring you joy and peace.
