Wanting to find your life purpose? Finding your purpose in life isn’t just a cliche. Studies show there are real benefits for finding and living your life purpose. Are you ready to discover your purpose and find a new direction for your future? We can all discover our life purpose if we give ourselves the time and space to consider the tips and tactics covered in this article. They will give you the opportunity to uncover more about yourself and your purpose in life.
The 12 tips and tactics covered in this article include What Does Your Heart Tell You About Your Life Purpose? Identify Things Holding You Back From Finding Your Life Purpose. How To Find Your Life Purpose? Ask Yourself These Questions. How To Find Your Life Purpose With Ikigai. How To Seek Feedback From Others To Help You Live A Purpose Driven Life. What Clues Does Your History Reveal About The Purpose Of Your Life. Why Is It important To Be Living A Purpose Driven Life? Cultivating The Art Of Meditation & Mindfulness To Reveal Your Life Purpose. Life Purpose Examples. Manage Your Inner Dialogue And Find Your Life Purpose. Write Your Story To Find What Is Your Purpose In Life. Getting Support.
There is no right order on which tips and tactics to start with. Start with the ones that feel right to you. Just get lost in and enjoy the process of self-discovery.
1. What Does Your Heart Tell You About Your Life Purpose?
Following your heart will lead you to your purpose in life. Often, putting your heart in charge of your life makes a lot more sense than putting your head in charge. The negative Nancy’s, doubtful Dave’s and fearful Fred’s live inside your head. The happy Harry’s and joyful Judy’s live inside your heart. Everyone has a specific purpose in life. It’s not always easy to figure out what that is, but if you keep track of the things your heart agrees as well as disagrees with, then it will be easier for you to find out.
When you place your heart in charge, you can then develop the habit of checking in. Ask yourself, what does my heart agree to do? What is it happy to go along with? Ask yourself how often does it agree with my decisions?
Also keep track of the things your heart disagrees with. What is it you are forcing it to do that it doesn’t agree with? Your heart is a wonderful indicator of what is right for you.
Start taking more notice of the things your heart agrees and disagrees with. When your feel confused about what to do in life, ask yourself, what does my heart agree with? For example, many people have agreed to follow their hearts by becoming teachers or coaches because they’re passionate about making a difference in the lives of others. It makes their heart sing.
Start right now, focusing on what your heart wants rather than always listening to your head. Leave your head to figuring out how to make what your heart wants a reality. Rather than the other way around. Following your head and then dragging your heart along for the ride doesn’t work. This is how many people end up in your jobs that hate doing work that lacks real meaning and purpose. All the while, their hearts are trying to get their attention and lead them in the right direction.
Identify Things Holding You Back From Finding Your Life Purpose
What Are the Things You Think About the Most?
Another way to help you find your life purpose is to note the things that concern or preoccupy you regularly. You can do this by jotting down the concerns in a journal daily. Even just realizing these can be a very insightful exercise. You will notice over time that your mind cluttered with the same concerns day in day out. Look to see how these concerns are limiting your choices and actions, especially in relation to finding and fulfilling your life purpose.
It also helps to share your concerns with others who may have similar ones or might know how best to address them. You may even find that in talking to others, your concerns disappear. It is important to discern whether your concerns have any actual substance or just a worry habit you have developed during your lifetime. Ask yourself how is is worrying about this helpful? What are some strategies, you can put in place to worry less and live more?
Finding the time to list your concerns, will make it much easier to understand why your life is the way it is. The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the quality of your thoughts.
What Are Your Biggest Fears?
Make a list of your major fears and do not hold back. No editing, no second guessing, just write.
Then, for every fear, use the following guide:
This fear of ......... is keeping me from ............
Then, using the cipher F E A R which stands for False Evidence Appearing Real, ask yourself, is the fear real or imagined? Cross off your list all the fears that you know in your heart have no actual substance to them. You know them to be thoughts rather than the truth. There is no factual evidence to support this fear except in your mind. There is no physical evidence what so ever. Next, examine what’s left on your list and ask yourself what is the specific physical evidence that makes this fear real? Then look at how to you can minimise it so it does not prevent you from finding and living your life purpose. Ask yourself, is this fear worth the price of living a happy and fulfilling life?
Most fears are projections of the mind. Some years ago I had a very attractive young woman working for me. I mean top model looks. However, she was convinced she was ugly. Our brain lies to us all the time. You cannot let your life remain hostage to its illogical fear based thinking. If you want a reality check, ask people you trust to provide you with feedback regarding your secret fears. Do not put up with them one minute longer. You deserve to happiness and the opportunity to take your rightful place in the world.
2. How To Find Your Life Purpose? Ask Yourself These Questions.
Whilst there is no one right way to find your life purpose, asking questions is a great way to discover insights about yourself and your purpose. Find a comfortable quiet space and take time to answer the following questions. It is important not to edit your thoughts. Just write whatever comes to mind. If nothing comes to mind, then go to the next question and come back to it later. Try also to stay out of judgement and never force yourself to answer any question. Just relax with the process and have some fun jotting down whatever comes to mind.
When you have answered each of the questions. Go back and ask what else at least 3 times. It will amaze you at how this will allow you to deep dive into your unconscious mind. For example, if you are answering the question, what are your passions? You would ask what else am I passionate about? After you have written your answer you would ask again, what else am I passionate about? Then ask for a third time. if you find nothing comes to mind, just move onto the next question and repeat the process. Again, don’tt force anything. Just relax, have fun and you will find a lot more insights will reveal themselves.
Questions To Ask Yourself
What are your passions?
What changes would you like to see in the world?
What would make this day worth living more than any other day?
If could have anything in the world, what would it be?
If your future self saw you today, what would it say?
If money and skill set were no issue, what would you like to spend the rest of your life doing?
What’s true about you and your life today that would make your 12 year disappointed?
If you knew you were going to die one year from now, what would you do to leave your mark and legacy in the world?
What do you love doing?
What are you good at? If you are unsure, ask others.
How do you think you could have a positive impact on other people’s lives?
What are your deepest desires in life?
What qualities about yourself do you enjoy expressing in the world?
What would you do if you never had to earn money?
If you had to describe your perfect day, what would that look like? Describe it in as much detail as you feel comfortable with.
What activities make your heart sing?
What brought you great joy as a child?
What are things you have done in the past where you have lost track of time?
Remember the times where you had a lot of fun. What were you doing?
What was the one thing you were passionate as a child that authority figures convinced you wasn’t practical?
What were the things you were passionate about as a child that others told you were not good enough at?
Are you pursuing a future to please others or to please yourself? If you had to please yourself, what would your future look like? If you struggle with answering this question, ask yourself what is important to you? Then, every time you come up with an answer, ask yourself what else is important to me? Keep on asking this question until you run out of answers.
If you were an artist with a blank canvas, how would you paint your future? What would the finished product look like? If you feel so inclined, try doing this literally.
What topics and conversations can you immerse yourself in for hours that leave feeling excited and happy?
What type of books, movies, and activities do you enjoy? Why are these subjects of interest to you?
What are you curious about?
What brings you joy?
What comes easily to you?
What do you want to be known for?
What are your favorite memories?
What is my purpose in life? Do not worry if you cannot answer this question. However, if something springs to mind, even if it sounds ridiculous, make sure you write it down unedited.
When you have finished this activity. Leave it for a few days and come back and look for patterns and reoccurring themes.What insights were revealed to you? write them down in your journal for future reference. Also, look to see what becomes obvious about you and your life when you read through the answers. What are the things you need to be doing more of as well as less of.
You might even find it useful to place your answers and insights into the Ikigai framework, which is also discussed in this article.
3. How To Find Your Life Purpose With Ikigai
The Japanese idea called ikigai, which is associated with the nation’s long life expectancy. It derived its meaning from combining the Japanese words “iki” (生き), which means “life,” and “gai” (甲斐), which describes value or worth. Ikigai is about discovering your reason for being and sense of purpose.
Ikigai has four main areas.
What you are good at.
What you love.
What the world needs.
What you can be paid for.
If you combine all four aspects, you can create a roadmap for finding and living your life purpose. The digram below shows when you do this, you can uncover your passion, mission, vocation and profession.
Philosopher Viktor Frankl wrote about the importance of finding your purpose in life. He said, “The more one forgets himself- by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love- the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.”
4. How To Seek Feedback From Others To Help You Live A Purpose Driven Life
Seeking feedback from others is another way of gaining insights into your life purpose Experts say the key is listening to what others value about you without judgment — it can be a powerful way to determine your life purpose.
Sometimes it's hard to recognise the things you are passionate about and good at. They can become so ingrained in your life that you don’t realise how important those things are.
There’s a good chance you’re displaying your passion and purpose to others without even realizing it. Perhaps others think of you as a great coach or that you are passionate about helping the elderly. Hearing others say what they notice about you is a great way of making you aware of your passions.
Ask friends, family members or even work colleagues what they consider being your strengths and passions.
You might choose to reach out to people and ask what reminds them of you or what they think of when you enter their mind. Or you might take note when someone pays you a compliment or makes an observation about you. Write those observations down and look for patterns.
Examples of questions to ask others:
What do you think are my strengths?
When communicating with you, have you ever noticed what I get passionate and animated about?
If you had to see me changing the world, what do you think I would do?
If you had to describe me in 5 words, what would they be?
When do you feel happiest around me?
When do they feel saddest around me?
How do people react when they hear my name?
What are the areas that if I focused on you think would improve my:
Career?
Ability to be more authentic?
Relationships?
Life?
5. What Clues Does Your History Reveal About The Purpose Of Your Life
Often the key to finding your life purpose is found in your history. Your past may provide a gateway for your future success. The questions listed below are a great way to gain clarity and insight into where your future professional success and destiny may lie.
What were your favourite subjects at school or college?
What are your major skills and knowledge?
What qualifications and certifications do you hold?
What were your top 3 favourite jobs and why? List the major duties and responsibilities associated with each role. Then highlight what you love to do.
What were your top 3 least favourite jobs and why? List the major duties and responsibilities associated with each role. Then highlight what you love to do.
What were the top 3 jobs where you had greatest success? List the major duties and responsibilities associated with each role. Then highlight what you love to do.
What were the top 3 jobs where you had least success? List the major duties and responsibilities associated with each role. Then highlight what you love to do.
What are your favourite work tasks?
What are your strengths?
What are your hobbies and interests?
What vision or thoughts about your future have unexpectedly popped into your mind. For example, you might have seen yourself on a stage talking to a large crowd of people?
What would make you excited to get out of bed of a morning?
If money, time and resources were not an issue, what would you LOVE to be doing with your life?
Often you find that your favourite jobs match your most successful ones and vice versa. Your least favourite jobs correlated with your least success. Note the tasks you performed in your favourite jobs, they indicate the things your strengths. Also note any visions and thoughts you may have had about your future. How might these play into your strengths and successes?
Often your life is telegraphing your life purpose. However, often you can be so busy you cannot hear its messages. Don’t ignore the messages contained within the answers to these questions. Also, don’t deny yourself the right to be happy. Acknowledge your strengths and what makes you happy. Accept them as the gifts and talents that are meant to be shared with the world.
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” — Steve Jobs
6. Why Is It important To Be Living A Purpose Driven Life?
The real advantage of having a life purposes that it will become the big why behind everything you do. It will prove the perfect inner coach to inspire and motivate you to keep going when life gets tough. When challenged to keep going against both your inner and outer critics, you will have the means within to defeat the enemy and claim your holy grail.
7. Cultivating The Art Of Meditation & Mindfulness To Reveal Your Life Purpose
Mindfulness and mediation are ways to still the mind so that it is easier to hear to the voice of inner wisdom. Your inner wisdom knows what your life purpose is. Taking time out to connect with it can save you a lot of time and misleading pathways.
It is the space between the notes that creates the music. Just as it is the space between your thoughts that contains everything you will ever need to know.
Because of the size and scope of this topic, I will discuss it in depth in another article.
8. What Is A Life Purpose
A purpose in life is a guiding principle that helps us to understand what we want and why we exist. It gives us an overarching goal for our existence. It can include anything from career goals, personal growth, or spiritual fulfilment.
9. Examples Of Life Purpose Statements
To be the best version of myself.
To empower others to realise their purpose, power, and potential.
To help heal the world of poverty.
To be a visionary leader who leads others to greatness.
To be a spiritual teacher who empowers others to find the truth within themselves.
To be a loving guide and inspiration to my children.
To help youth discover and live their potential.
To help the elderly find peace and happiness in their lives.
To ensure the dying die with peace, dignity and integrity.
To be a world peace mediator.
To live each day in love, joy, and gratitude.
10. Manage Your Inner Dialogue And Find Your Life Purpose
Inner dialogue is a powerful force in all of our lives. It can be helpful or harmful, but it’s always there. To be successful and find your purpose, you will need to face it.
With a little practice, you can become more aware of how your thoughts and emotions are influencing the way you respond to life and your ability to discover your life purpose.
When you first begin focusing on your thoughts and emotions, your inner critic will raise its ugly head. This is one of the major reasons people decide not to face their inner dialogue. I believe that anxiety and depression stem from unmanaged inner dialogue. Inner dialogue that is allowed to run rampant like a wild child can create all sorts of havoc in your life. Anxiety is the first sign of untamed inner dialogue. Ignore the anxiety enough and it can progress to the next stage, called depression. Depression takes us into states of hopelessness and helplessness. It is where hope is replaced by acceptance of powerlessness. By using anxiety as a warning sign of your inner dialogue running amuck. You can take back control of your inner dialogue and life.
When embarking on the journey of finding your life purpose, your inner critic is going to try and stop you. Negative Nancy and Neville are going to come at you hard. They will try to convince that you’re crazy for trying to find your purpose. The inner critic loves to put you down and keep you small. It might say things, like “Who do you think you are” or “You’ll never find what you’re looking for” or “You are kidding yourself if you think you will ever amount to anything.” However the truth is everyone has an inner critic and if everyone believed it, no one would achieve anything.
The first step is to allow your inner critic to raise its ugly head. It operates at an unconscious level, creating unknown havoc and self sabotage in your life. It is the silent assassin of dreams. You need to have the courage not to suppress the inner critic and allow it to become visible to your conscious mind. You cannot defeat an unseen enemy. Unless you are aware of the inner critics’ self sabotaging ways, you are powerless to stop it.
Once you become aware of negative Nancy and Neville, you can then start minimising their negative impact.
Negative Nancy and Neville were born out of your brain’s operating system. During the first 6 years of your life, your brain is in a fully hypnotic state. Then from 7 to 12 it is in a semi hypnotic state. Meaning that during the first 12 years of your life, you took on most of what you saw, heard, and experienced to be the truth. Your brain lacked the ability to discern the truth. The fact that you live in a fear based world means that most of the messages you are exposed to are more negative than positive. Because of the way your brain processed information as a child, negative Nancy and Neville believe that what they are telling you is the truth. However, the reality is it is not the truth but projections of others peoples thoughts and beliefs. So, in order to reeducate negative Nancy and Neville, you need to accept that those thoughts and beliefs are not the truth. Then you are able to empower yourself with a whole new set of positive thoughts and beliefs.
Now negative Nancy and Neville will not believe you at first. Why would they? Their thinking has gone unchallenged for years, and they believe they are right. You are going to need to be persistent, firm and committed to changing their thinking. A great way to start this process is to use a process I call Logical Reasoning. Logical Reasoning is about changing a belief through the power of using a logical reasoning process. Your brain responds very well to logic. Here’s how it works.
The first thing you do is challenge the thought. So when negative Nancy and Neville say who do you think you are? You can flip it into a question such as, “who am I not to believe that I could fulfil my life purpose and impact the world in positive impactful ways”. Then, when Negative Nancy and Neville come back at you with another limiting belief, you can use logic to challenge their assumptions. Such as well your voice was born out of someones else’s beliefs I took on as a child. I, like all the great achievers and change agents throughout history, stopped believing in your limiting beliefs and proved they were false. So I understand you believe what you are saying is correct, but it is born out of a faulty logic. The logic that someones else’s fears and limiting beliefs are my fears and limiting beliefs. They are not. Your thoughts did not originate from me, but somebody else. So negative Nancy and Neville, your time of reign with incorrect data is now over. Instead, I am going to step into the truth that I can now choose to have any thoughts I want. I choose to be unlimited and unbound in my thinking. I am the creator of my world through the thoughts I choose to hold.
Now negative Nancy and Neville will not go away immediately. They will come back and argue with you. However, you now have the awareness and power to challenge all negative and limiting beliefs. Courage and mindfulness will be key.
When you begin the journey of finding your life purpose, there will be a lot of resistance from your inner dialogue. Your internal beliefs and inner critic will try to convince you are crazy for trying to find your purpose, let alone fulfil it. You’ll need plenty of courage, persistence and commitment. Eventually, negative Nancy and Neville will disappear and you will be free to find and fulfil your life purpose.
11. Write Your Story To Find What Is Your Purpose In Life
There are many ways to write your life story as a means of giving you key insights into your purpose in life. One way is to use the following method.
Create a time line from birth to your current age.
Mark on the timeline all the pivotal and life-changing events that have occurred in your life both good and bad.
Expand on these events by asking yourself what was the major lesson this event taught me? What might its purpose have been in my life? For any event that caused you frustration or angst, ask yourself, how did this event make me a better person? What were the decisions I made that propelled my life forward? What were the decisions I made that caused me setbacks. What did the setbacks teach me? Were the setbacks caused because my decisions went against my intuitive or gut instincts?
Or try out the following Hero’s Journey Story Template to reveal insights into your life purpose.
Write your hero’s journey story
Once upon a time there was a hero called (insert your first name). (insert your first name) loved to do (Insert a passion you had for something earlier in your life that you let go of). When (insert your first name) was doing this, she/he felt (describe how it made you feel). One day (insert your first name) came across someone or something that they were not good enough to make a living at what they were passionate about. (insert your first name) believed this stopped doing what they loved. (Insert your first name) became very sad and lost their way in life.
One day (insert your first name) was wandering the roads feeling very lost when he came upon a wise sage. The sage asked (insert your first name) why they looked so unhappy and lost. (Insert your first name) said it is because they did not know what they should do with their life. Nothing made them happy anymore. The Sage then asked (insert your first name) has there ever been anything that made you happy and made your heart sing. (insert your first name) thought for a moment before replying a long time ago I used to love doing (Insert a passion you had for something earlier in your life that you let go of). Why did you stop asked the sage? Because I stopped believing I was good enough. Why did you do that asked the sage? (Insert your first name) had to think for a moment before replying because they had forgotten why. Then they remembered and replied because someone something told me so. (Insert the situation that was most applicable to you).
The wise sage looked at (insert your first name) and said so you would believe someone or something over what your own heart tells you. I suppose so answered (insert your first name). Does that make you happy asked the sage? No replied (insert your first name). Also, were you good at what made you happy asked the sage. I suppose so, replied (insert your first name). So if our bigger purpose in life is happiness, might it be wise to return to doing what makes you happy? queried the sage. I suppose so said (insert your first name). But I am too old now complained (insert your first name). I could never make any money doing that. How do you know this? asked the sage. Well, everyone says it is too difficult to make money out of doing this.
Let me ask you this replied the sage is what you’re good at able to help people. Not sure, replied (insert your first name). Then look at what you’re good at and find a way that it can solve a problem that people might have. It might be an employer or someone you know or even don’t know, said the sage. If it is someone I don’t know, how do I know I can solve their problem. Good question replied the sage. A simple way to start is to ask people you know and come into contact with whether they have this problem or know of anyone who does. You must come across many people traveling this road asked the sage. Yes, that is true, replied (insert your first name).
Everyone has access to people these days, especially through the internet and social media. It is simple enough to research whether what you love to do matches a need or problem that someone else has. What makes you happy is usually what you are good. Both combine to point you toward your life purpose. (insert your first name)
(insert your first name) felt themselves smiling for the first time in a very long time. They felt hopeful again and just the thought of doing something that made them happy made their heart sing again. (Insert your first name) knew that if they were to fulfill their life purpose, they would need to stay focused on what made them happy. It would also be important to surround themselves with positive and supportive people, rather those who wanted to keep them small and unhappy. This was where they had gone wrong before. (Insert your first name) knew deep in their heart that happiness and joy where the secret keys to fulfilling their purpose and potential in this lifetime. (insert your first name) decided they would take one small action every day towards reclaiming their purpose, power and potential.
Writing is a great way to discover your truth. It is not for everyone, but if this tactic resonated with you, then let nothing deter you from finding the answers you seek.
12. Get Coaching Support To Find Your Life Purpose
If you are someone who does not have the time or inclination to figure out your life purpose. Then speak with a professional who has assessment tools and resources to help you identify and fulfil your life purpose. Life Purpose Coaching using the Authentic Self Assessment Profile is a proven way of doing this.
If you have been looking for a way to find your life purpose, but have been distracted by life, I hope this article has been helpful. In today’s world, it’s easy to get caught up in the activity and chaos of daily life and lose sight of what is important. If this sounds like you, then I recommend you take some time to reevaluate your life and consider the tactics and tips outlined in this post. Imagine living a life where everyday you are excited to get out of bed and live the life you are destined to live. It is my greatest wish that this becomes your reality.
I hope you have found this article useful for finding your purpose in life. I have outlined my best tips and tactics to finding your purpose. If you have any other comments, questions or tips you would like to share, please let me know by leaving a comment below. Thank you for reading!
