How to Find Your Purpose

Wowza, what a big topic to be covered in a blog post!

Finding your purpose is like hitting the lottery of life. It’s pure magic when it clicks. It gives more meaning to your existence and allows others to benefit from being in your presence.

The issue, though, is finding your purpose isn’t always obvious. Many of us get stuck living our lives by default, not by design. We go to school for what we ‘should’ do: get married, buy a house, and have a kid or two. We work then 9-5, cook dinner, watch Netflix, maybe occasionally meet a friend for dinner, and then ask ourselves, “Is this what I’m meant to do forever?”

It’s time (and more than okay) to honor that humans constantly change and evolve.

We get the nudge from within and then ignore it. We say things to ourselves like, I should be grateful. I have enough. I wanted this at some point.

Sometimes, our soul persists, and we get a glimmer of what we think our purpose should be. Something lights us up, but we convince ourselves that we can’t make a business from what we enjoy. That would be too easy. So we search the internet, poll our friends, and pay professionals to help us find happiness.

You may be at the point where you are feeling stuck in life or feeling unsure of your purpose. Maybe you don’t have goals that you are working towards or just feeling blah.

I can assure you, my friend, you are NOT alone. I have been where you are, and so many of my clients are here, too.

I don’t have the answers for you, but I do have the questions.

Let’s explore 5 ways to uncover your purpose.

Examine Your Life

The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Are you consciously choosing your experiences and how you spend your time, or are you falling into habits and patterns because they’re all you know?

Look back on your life and your experiences to date, and consider the following questions:

What significant experiences have you been through that changed you?
What transformations have you gone through?
What have you personally experienced (divorce, health journey, death of a spouse or child, learning disability) that you can help other people overcome?
What lessons have you learned?

Adopt the mindset that life is always happening FOR you and not TO you. These roadblocks and hardships in your life have been growth opportunities placed in your life for a reason. Take your pen to paper and reflect on some of these big questions.

Quiet your Mind

This probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but the biggest way to hear your soul speak is to make space for it. Practice quieting your mind. Your intuition is always talking to you!

We all have an inner GPS system that guides us on where to go and what choices to make. The problem is learning to listen. Chances are, work, music, TV, kids, and your significant other - are filling up your head space. And it’s hard to have new thoughts when your brain doesn’t get a chance to rest. Start to pay attention to your gut reactions and hunches. Notice if synchronicities keep showing up in your life. These are meant to take note of when searching for your purpose.

Ways to Connect with Your Intuition

Meditation - If you are new to meditation, try setting a timer for 5 minutes and focusing on your breath. Guided meditations on apps like Calm, HeadSpace, or Insight Timer can give a busy mind something to focus on. It may not happen like a flash of lightning, but more often than not, you will gain insights or ‘downloads’ of information that will guide you forward.
Yoga - Yoga promotes mindfulness and helps connect to your higher self. It is a great practice to create space for you to be present and calm the mind.
Reiki - Energy work naturally opens up the subtle body and improves intuition. It heightens our sensitivities and expands awareness. Reiki helps to unblock chakras and heal old wounds so you can move forward in life.
Nature Walks - Spending time outside in nature can be grounding, bringing you back to the present moment. Try walking, hiking, jogging or spending time by the water. Preferably without earbuds and connecting with Mother Nature.

Highlight your Talents

Take a moment to pat yourself on the back and reflect on what you are innately good at. Sometimes, these are the things that come so naturally to us that we don’t even realize they are gifts. Are you the planner of your friend group? Or are you the go-to person for advice when someone is going through a tough time?

Ask your friends and family members what they think your talents or qualities are if you feel stuck. One thing I found helpful when discovering my purpose was to do a Personality Test. You can search for Myer-Briggs, 16 Personalites, or the HEXACO, to name a few.

For example, I am a ENFJ-A according to the 16 Personalities test. This in a nutshell, tells me:

“Thanks to their emotional intelligence and social skills, Protagonists can excel in nearly any people-oriented field, such as human resources, event management, recruiting, or public relations. That said, they tend to feel especially motivated in positions where they can guide others to learn, grow, and become more independent. Many people with this personality type gravitate toward careers such as social work, teaching, counseling, coaching, health care, or public interest law.”

Essentially it confirms that I love coaching/healing work, which is a good fit for me. Try yours! Identifying your strengths will help guide your purpose.

Get Curious & Journal

Remember that time you were a kid, and you did things just because you wanted to? Yup, go back to those times. Were you an avid reader, collecting all the books in a series? Did you record songs in your basement or teach yourself how to play guitar? Did you paint or draw and get lost in art for hours? You get the point…

Reconnecting with your inner child gives you clues. What did you stop doing because something else took more of a priority as you got older? In early childhood, we are truly connected with our authentic selves before the world, parents, or authority corrupts our beliefs.

Start doing things just for fun again and wait for new possibilities to arise. And even if it doesn’t lead you directly to your purpose, joy is your birthright, and you deserve to have fun!

Know Your Values

What are your values? When we know what our core values are, we start to live more intentional lives. Values help us to make conscious choices. In terms of finding your purpose, ask yourself what you stand for.

What would you show up at a rally for holding signs? Cancer prevention? Transgender rights? Saving the sea turtles? What gets you fired up inside? Where do you notice injustice in the world? These are clues to what makes you feel alive and passionate.

Grab your journal and write down a values list. Lastly, think about how you want to be remembered when you die. If a loved one was reading your eulogy at your funeral, what would you like to be known for?

Conclusion

The big point of life is to learn lessons, evolve as a person, and experience joy. We believe money, success, and accolades will grant us happiness, but true joy doesn’t come from things.

Put simply, your purpose is to be 100% YOU and share your gifts with the world in a way only you can.

As a reminder, wanting to feel happier and create a better life is not selfish. Those who judge you are likely jealous of your ability to pursue your dreams because they haven’t fully realized theirs.

Bonus note:

Above all, please know that your purpose does not necessarily have to be tied to your work. Your purpose in this lifetime could be to raise good humans. Maybe it’s to break a generational cycle or help heal your family of toxic patterns. Please comment below if this is you! Maybe this needs its own post!

Now, reflect and bring all the pieces together. :)

“If you are moving forward in your life, if you are progressing personally,
professionally, emotionally, spiritually – you will be happy.”

— Tony Robbins