For those of us who feel like we’ve found our purpose, life can seem much easier. Generally, it means you do what you love and love what you do. You’re able to achieve success (in whichever way you define success) in the things you do, and that feels rewarding and fills your cup in ways that add value and meaning to your life. That sounds amazing, doesn’t it?
That’s obviously not the case for those who are aimlessly getting through life, but in a frustratingly awkward sort of way. They may be successful by some definitions (financially, for example) – but they’re not successful according to their personal definition, which is often much more than just merely financial. People yearn to find purpose socially, spiritually, physically, and in many other ways.
So how does one take steps to identify their purpose? My advice would be to realize that it is highly unlikely that there is only one purpose that is right for you. The truth is, we live in a period of abundant opportunity. There may be hundreds of things you can do or become that would fill the purpose void in your life. Limiting your thinking to believe there is “only one thing” may create pressure and anxiety that prevent you from doing the thing you truly find purpose and meaning in.
Slow down, and break it down into consumable thoughts or ideas you can list out for yourself. List all of the things you’ve loved to do, whether at work or in your personal life. Create another list of the things you’ve disliked, so you’ll know right away the types of things you should likely avoid. For instance, if your worst job was waiting tables at a restaurant, then you probably want to avoid the hospitality sector, or maybe even think long and hard about being in the service environment at all. On the contrary, if you loved waiting tables and helping people enjoy and make the most out of special occasions, then the hospitality and service industries may be the place you should explore new opportunities.
We do this with food. If we like spicy food, we tend to scan the menu at a restaurant for the little cayenne pepper icon to identify dishes we assume we’ll enjoy, simply because we know they’re the spicier dish on the menu. Conversely, if we hate spicy foods, we avoid those dishes at all cost.
You can do the same for your purpose and passions. Document what you enjoy (and the things that you don’t). Use that list as menu items to see what other flavors in work/life/social/culture you might also enjoy. Then take a chance and give it a taste!
Good news – you can always change your purpose – or have more than one. Here is no hard fast rule to finding or pursuing your purpose. The main thing is to be optimistic. Try to view the world from a lens of abundance and not from a view of scarcity. Taking inventory of the things you enjoy vs. the things you dislike is a great place to start.
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