While I cannot say exactly if every person has a specific purpose, I definitely believe that life is better when you act as if it is true.
Yet, how do you find a purpose that is truly your’s? There has been a ton written on the subject and I’ve read quite a bit of it in an attempt to find my own.
In my case it was staring in my face the whole time. I’m here to create new ideas, to write new stories, and to share them with others. It’s taken a while to realize this was my actual purpose. Here are some tools to help you figure your purpose.
1. Use factoidz.com/how-to-start-working-through-emotional-issues/
After you’ve completed that exercise, look for patterns. Find the questions that asking makes you feel alive. When you find something to do that makes you feel happier or more alive find out what your life would be like if you aligned everything you do with it.
2. Stop Distracting Yourself
If you’re serious about finding your purpose one of the best ways to do so is not distract yourself away from it. We spend much of our time busying ourselves with tasks that don’t really matter, that don’t set us on fire (with passion, not with actual fire). Go outside and sit for a hour without TV, radio, or anything else. Repeat this every day until you know. If you’re really serious spend an entire day sitting and doing nothing.
Repeat that until you know.
This is an amazingly uncomfortable technique, but it cuts right to the heart of the issue. You only have so many seconds on Earth. You’re going to have to figure out what you want to have spent most of that time doing. Sleeping? Watching TV? Living trivialities? It’s up to you.
3. Ask The Right Questions
The big value of the exercise in #1 is it "shotguns" your mind and forces you to think about a ton more things than you usually do. You can enhance it’s effectiveness by finding the most powerful questions to ask. For the most part these are going to be tailored to your exact situation.
To help you get started, here are a series of links to get those juices flowing.
www.123infinity.com/ Very science focused list of Big Questions
top7business.com Questions specific to purpose
www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/bigquest.htm Thoughts on some of the classic big questions
www.thebigview.com/contents.html A good overview of many schools of thought and their take on the big questions
4. What Excited You As a Child?
This technique can be used two different ways. The best way is to find a picture of yourself as a baby. You know, one of those pictures where you had bright and shining eyes. Look into the eyes you had at one or two years and ask yourself what excited you then. I’m not sure exactly why this works as well as it does, but it’s a profound experience looking at yourself so close to birth and remembering what made you feel alive then.
If you don’t have a picture of yourself from "back in the day" asking questions about your early years can be a workable substitute. But I highly recommend breaking out your baby pictures.
5. Start Doing Different Things
If you don’t know what you want to do with your life, one of the most beneficial things to do is to start trying different things. One of the clearest examples of this could be found in a college freshman of undeclared major. Perhaps she, knowing that she does not know what to do, ignores most of her basic requirement classes and instead takes a classes in numerous areas that interest her. Then perhaps she finds a subject that really interests her and focuses on it. I’ve known several people who have used this technique successfully.
Not sure what to do? Here are some suggestions: Take a class, volunteer at a non-profit, teach a class, write poetry, learn to fight, learn to love, go on a retreat, build something, make some art, go meet some new people, ask questions, or get a part time job. This is by no means a complete list. Spend some time thinking about what you could do.
6. Follow Your Bliss
Joseph Campbell coined the phrase "Follow Your Bliss," and it remains one of the best single pieces of advice I know of. What is your bliss? It’s an activity that gets you juiced up (not steroids!), that makes you feel alive, that you love doing, that- dare I say- fires up your mojo.
I’ve long since been impressed at people’s willingness and ability to subject themselves to various pain and suffering for some imagined goal in the future (usually with mixed results). Take this tip with you when you try anything new. Does it make you want more life? Then it’s probably the right thing to do.
Finding one’s purpose is rarely an instant thing. You may have to spend a great deal of time and energy figuring out exactly what you want to do and even more time figuring out how to go about doing it in your day to day life while still satisfying all your other obligations.
Take it easy, though. You’re right where you should be.
Now go out there and start figuring things out.
