How to find purpose in Life? What’s your purpose?

How many of us don’t love our jobs, don’t like what we do, and are simply unhappy with the lives we lead? Don’t we all wish that we would just enjoy our jobs, get paid a decent amount of money, work only a few hours each day (if that), and just have fun in our day-to-day? Well, all of this is achievable, if you are doing it with a purpose!

By definition, “purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.”

Do you have a purpose in your life? Do you get up and go to work every single day with a purpose other than needing money to pay your bills and make it through the month? Per verywellmind.com, only 25% of Americans adults have a clear sense of purpose and direction.

Hear me out, this is not something that a lot of people know … but you can find your purpose at any point in life if you haven’t found it yet. It is never too late to go back to school and become more educated. It is never too late to learn a new skill or try something different. It is never too late to find what makes you happy! And it is never too late, even if you are 40, 50, 60, or 80 years old!

Have you noticed how some people around you have things flow so easily and get everything they want in life so effortlessly? The answer is simple, though doing it is requires a significant amount of work with oneself. It is clear that these people truly enjoy what they do for a living! When they do it, they do it with all the happiness and desire they can muster, and that’s what makes them so happy ultimately! Don’t get me wrong, I think sitting on a beach drinking a refreshing drink is my kind of Monday-through-Friday, 8-to-5 job, but we all need to be realistic and understand that the majority of us will have to work.

So, how do you identify your purpose? How do you find what you like to do and ignore what everyone else has told you you should do? Most of us simply follow our parent’s advice or a friend’s suggestion. But how many of us can be honest with ourselves and truly say that we love what we do and have always dreamt about it? Not very many.

One of the best ways to find your purpose is to return, for a moment, to your childhood, when you were around 8, 9, 10, or even 12 years old. What did you enjoy doing at that time, what did you like playing with, did you ever pretend to be a firefighter? Did you pretend to be a nurse that saves lives? Did you like to do everyone’s make-up in the house or made up creative outfits for yourself to wear? Go back in time and try to recall what your favorite game was to play and why. Everything that you can remember will lead you a lot closer to your purpose.

In our childhood, we subconsciously knew what would make us happy and that’s what we often played or acted out. If you enjoyed reading novels as a child, try to write that book as an adult (just try it!), if you made up outfits for yourself and everyone around you, try to design something or become a stylist. If you enjoyed helping people and pretended to be a healer, go and become a medical professional!

I am not saying that you should go and quit your job right now, but at least find a place to start. Begin with posting to social media, building a website, starting a DBA (Doing Business As, for when you don’t want to spend money now to open up a corporation), writing one page of a novel, then two, then 6, and just see where it goes. Just start somewhere. If there are a few options you would quite like to try and you are not 100% sure where to start, that’s awesome, don’t feel discouraged or overwhelmed. Start with the one that feels closest to your heart and the one you feel most comfortable with and go for it. It is probably easiest to only start with one goal and just give it your all, then you will get to know for sure if it is your purpose or not!

There may be times when we believe our calling to be a doctor because our mom or dad told us so. But then after being a doctor for 15 years we realize that we actually enjoy creating art or teach much more. Always listen to what your heart is telling you. That is the most important rule.

Having purpose in life is very important as it motivates you to be a better version of yourself.You need to be a better version of yourself, this is the only way to strive to be better and more successful. Having a purpose motivates you to reach for the stars if you wish.

For me, spending some time alone always works (especially at the beach or the park), just to sit and listen to the waves, wind, and whatever noise is around me. I like to take a little walk, stare at the water, walk on the grass … I get to hear myself think and I gain new insights then. This is when I am most one-on-one with myself, and I can hear myself best.

Trust yourself, love yourself, and everyone else will follow. Finding your purpose is not something you can do over night, or in a week’s time. It can be a really lengthy journey, but that journey will make you a much happier person in the end.