How To Find Your Life’s Purpose

As humans, we all have a deep desire for a sense of belonging. It’s in our nature to want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves and make a contribution of some sort to the world. But how do you even begin to answer such a big question with so many correct answers? How do you find what your life’s purpose is?

For some people, their life’s purpose is clear from the time they are young children. For others, they must be shaped by many life experiences before they feel a sense of where their purpose lies. And for others, they get to a point in their lives where what they thought they knew just isn’t working for them anymore and they want a fresh start.

No matter where you are on this journey of life, here are some helpful steps for how to find your life’s purpose whether you’re just now starting your journey of self-discovery or you’re looking to start a new chapter.

List Out Your Values

The first thing you’ll want to do on your journey to finding your life’s purpose is to list out your values. Make a list of three to five core values that are non-negotiable for you. For me, my values are faith, family, freedom, creativity, and kindness. Some other common values are ambition, growth, loyalty, honesty, and independence just to name a few. 

Your values could be anything and it’s worth taking some time to meditate on what yours are! Check out this list of over fifty common values from James Clear (author of the bestselling book Atomic Habits). Just make sure that your values are truly your own and aren’t influenced by any outside factors such as family expectations or what your favorite social media influencer values and believes. 

Once you’ve listed your core values, it’s easier to identify what your purpose in life is. Your values act as your guiding principles. Once you have your values you can choose to only do things that align with those core beliefs. If something doesn’t align with my values, no matter how good the offer may seem, then the answer is an automatic no. This is also a great way to set boundaries for yourself, especially if you’re an artist or freelancer.

Think About Your Passions

Next, you’ll want to think about your passions. What activities get you truly excited? Think about the things that you could spend all day doing or talking about. My passions are writing, acting, storytelling, business, and positivity. I spend a lot of time reading about or studying these topics and I feel so much joy when I am doing these things.

Take the time to figure out what you’re passionate about if you don’t already know. It could be one thing that makes your heart feel fulfilled when you do it. Or, maybe you’re multi-passionate and have several things you enjoy doing. As you can see, many of my passions overlap. For example, I use my passion for storytelling to spread positivity through writing, acting, and my businesses.

It may be difficult to see how your passions intersect at first, and not all of them have to or even need to. Having multiple passions is what makes you a unique individual. Being multi-passionate can even work to your advantage by offering you more opportunities and can lead you to create multiple streams of income.

And if you don’t quite yet know what you’re passionate about, that’s okay, too!  As a kid, I tried many different sports before deciding I was more of a music person and joined my school’s choir and band. Even as an adult, there have been things that I thought would be so cool to do. However, once I actually did those things, I realized they weren’t for me. On the other hand, I’ve hesitated to do things I wasn’t so sure about only to find that I really enjoy them! 

So don’t be afraid to take some time to just try out different things! That’s how you find out what you like and what you don’t!

Identify Your Why

Now, this is the tricky one for most people. Identify your why – why are you here on earth?

I’m still not sure I have the entire answer to this one myself, but having a brief ‘why statement’, much like a personal mission statement, can help guide you when you’re feeling lost. Your ‘why’ is the reason you get out of bed every day, why you make the choices that you do, and why you keep going. It should motivate you and keep you on track.

My why is that I want to inspire and motivate others to live their best life and to show my daughter that anything is possible with hard work and determination. I know, mine is technically two separate ‘whys’, but these identify with my values, and hearing my ‘why statement’ truly motivates me to achieve my goals.

You Don’t Have To Have All The Answers

The most important thing to remember while searching for your life’s purpose is that you don’t have to have all the answers.

When I was a teenager, I thought I had my life all figured out. But fast forward to adulthood, and as life would have it, things didn’t always turn out as expected. There were a lot of surprises I hadn’t planned for in my teenage daydreams. As I dealt with having adult responsibilities and starting a family, I found that I no longer wanted the same things that I once did. 

Then, I spent so much time in my early twenties focused on ‘figuring things out’ that I forgot to live in the moment and just be grateful for where I was at that point in time. I was more worried about getting to where I wanted to be, rather than appreciating where I was. For so long, I spent each day miserable because I wasn’t yet where I wanted to be!

We, ideally, should never stop learning and improving, so what kind of logic is that? I would’ve just gone through my entire life never happy living like that! What I wanted ten years ago is so drastically different from what I want now. I’m sure in another ten years my values and goals will have changed with my life experiences.

We have the power to make life anything we want, at any time. Forget having everything figured out. Start where you are. Try different things. Start taking little steps each day toward who you want to become. Most importantly, enjoy the present moment. Even if you’re nowhere close to where you want to be now. You’re on your way. so why not enjoy the beautiful journey that is life?