10 Ways to Start Finding Your Life Purpose
At one point or another in life, most of us want to find our life purpose. Purpose is your WHY.
This is an essential endeavor for living a long, happy and healthy life but, it can also be challenging.
Often, we’re taught societal ideas about purpose, ie: you should get married and have kids or you should earn a certain amount of money or achieve a certain ‘position’ in your career and in society.
These types of achievements can be just fine but you may still want the sense of fulfillment that finding your personal sense of purpose can bring you. It has less to do with one specific or particular goal and more to do with having an ongoing impact on those around you and the world, large or small.
This personal sense of purpose (or ikigai or raison d’etre) guides and sustains you in your life, through good times, turbulent times and more. It keeps you moving forward. It’s your North Star. It leads you to greater satisfaction and success in your life.
This idea of life purpose has been studied by Dan Buettner in the Blue Zones, those few areas in the world, where people live the longest, healthiest and most contented lives. Five of these blue zones are: Okinawa, Japan (where the concept of ikigai is important); Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California, USA.
The question of your life purpose brings up some existential questions; this can be both thrilling and scary. Like everything else in life, it’s necessary to get out of our comfort zones, to learn, to grow and to move forward. Yes; it may be uncomfortable but it leads to a better sense of self and more rewarding and aligned paths forward.
Your Purpose is not a one size fits all proposition. It’s unique to you! It’s your reason for being (raison d’etre). Each one of us has a particular set of skill sets, talents, gifts, and experiences, that give us joy….light us up. It’s why you get out of bed in the morning, even when you’re tired, it’s cold outside and your day looks challenging.
We’re not talking about short-term here; this life purpose is for the long-term. This is why it’s a good idea to blend your purpose with your interests, passions and what brings you joy.
The Importance of Finding your Life Purpose:
It’s not just that it’s nice to know your life purpose. It’s important for better physical health, improved mental fitness and a longer life.
It comes from being connected to others; to using your gifts in the service of others, which, interestingly, can also help you to clarify your purpose.
REMINDER: You’ll find that your purpose changes throughout your life. Continuous learning, growth and progress can keep you connected to it.
10 Tips to Find your Life Purpose:
1)Develop & Have a GROWTH MINDSET:
With a growth mindset, you know you can constantly change and grow and this openness is necessary,
to become a better version of yourself. It allows you to:
-look and embrace challenges as opportunities,
-persevere in spite of challenges or failures (all part of life),
-learn to accept feedback and constructive criticism (and from whom….).
2)Practice gratitude and self-care:
GRATITUDE:
Learning to focus on gratitude or being thankful for what you do have strengthens your sense of purpose.
Remember that what you focus on grows, so be thankful even if it’s for having food to eat and a roof over your head. These are big things in certain parts of the world.
EXERCISE:
As a Life & Mindset Coach & Hypnotherapist, I ask my clients to do an evening routine. Part of it is gratitude. Right before falling off to sleep, name 3 things (in your head or aloud) that you’re grateful for. You can start with small things: being thankful for your bed, where you live, your friend, neighbor, etc. Then, name 3 things that you’re grateful for about yourself. This seems to be harder for people. We’re not used to being self-grateful. It’s not self-centered or selfish; it’s necessary. You can thank the universe, God, whoever or whatever, for being strong, kind, smart, loyal, etc.
SELF-CARE:
Self-care comes in so many forms and you can choose what works for you. Maybe you like massage, facials or taking a bath. Maybe you like breathing exercises or journaling or painting or dancing around the room.
You deserve to be loved and cared for and the way to ensure this is to practice self-care. It’s also important because when our brains are relaxed, they are more creative and receptive to the flow of ideas. This is more helpful than forcing ourselves to ‘think’. This creative thinking can lead you closer to finding your life purpose.
3)Explore your PASSIONS:
Your purpose might lie within your passions and interests. Sometimes, these can be hard to identify. We become so conditioned to a certain way of thinking that it’s difficult to free and relax our minds and/or to learn other ways of thinking (ie: with a coach, therapist, somatic practitioner, etc.).
Also, these passions may be so ingrained into our way of thinking that we become blind to them.
If you’re not sure of your passions, you can ask those who know you what you’re good at. If you’re good at listening, empathy and problem solving, you might consider coaching or therapy.
Your passions can turn into a career but they don’t have to; they can stay a hobby or become a side-hustle. You never know…….
4)Turn your PAIN into PURPOSE:
Every one of us faces struggles and has to overcome challenges. These give us our unique perspective and strengths.
Some folks find their purpose after they overcome a major life change and then want to help others facing similar situations and struggles.
I can relate to this one because one of my missions or life purpose is to help others decrease their suffering; in their minds, bodies and spirits. That’s what made me decide to become a dentist, hypnotherapist and life coach. Creativity is also a large part of who I am, so I’ve been a dancer, an actor, and presently, a writer, painter and multimedia artist.
5)RECOGNIZE & IDENTIFY your Strengths & Talents:
We all have strengths, gifts, talents that we’ve developed over our lifetimes and which make us unique.
Many of us are unsure of what we have to offer or don’t realize what traits of ours may be unique strengths.
It’s helpful to ask friends, family, teachers, colleagues, mentors……..for input. Here are some questions you can ask them:
1)What do you think I’m particularly good at?
An answer may be: “You’re good at adapting to all different kinds of people.” This is a great asset, both personally and professionally.
2)What do you think I really enjoy?
3)How do you think I’ll leave my mark (or my legacy) on the world?
You can listen to this feedback and take in what resonates with you……….and you can leave the rest behind.
6)VALUES: Reflect on What Matters Most
Understanding what you value most can help you to narrow down your purpose in life.
There are Values questionnaires you can use or you can work with a Life Coach to find and PRIORITIZE your values. This helps you to clarify your purpose.
When you’re clear about your deepest values, then you can do this EXERCISE:
Answer the following questions:
-What do these values say about you as a person?
-How do these values influence or affect your daily life?
-How might these values relate to what you want to do with the rest of your life?
The answers to these questions may help you see how you can put your values to use.
7)GIVE BACK, VOLUNTEER, BE OF SERVICE:
Giving back enhances your sense of meaning and purpose. When you help others, you are also helping yourself.
Look for ways to volunteer or be of service in some way: in your local community, or donating to a cause that’s important to you.
Or just spread some happiness by performing random acts of kindness. These may seem small to you but can change someone else’s life………
8)SELF-ACCEPTANCE:
Practice accepting your talents and strengths, as well as your limitations; this can help you to be kinder and gentler with yourself when things don’t go as you want them to.
We’re human and we all make mistakes and have failures, but instead of blaming and beating yourself up, try to see each setback as an opportunity to learn and grow. This is when you learn the most!
When you have self-compassion, you can become more accepting and more aware of yourself and your actions. This can lead to a greater sense of connection to others and all that you do. This gives more meaning to your life.
9)READ:
Reading is one of the best ways to expand your horizons.
Nonfiction books are great for acquiring knowledge.
It seems that reading fiction may have more benefits. It improves your empathy and critical and creative thinking. When you put yourself in the shoes of a character, you can imagine how you would react in that situation.
One of my personal favorite reasons for reading is that stories connect you to other people across place, time and cultures. This can help you cultivate a sense of connectedness that can help you generate a sense of life purpose.
10)Spend Time with People who INSPIRE you:
It’s important who you spend your time with. If you spend time with folks who are positive and purpose-driven, you’ll likely be inspired to have a similar mindset (growth and moving forward). You may even discover your purpose through these people.
Get out of your comfort-zone of people in your life and look beyond your family, friends and colleagues. See who you choose to spend time with. Look closely at these relationships and make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with people who want to move forward, and are positive, aspirational and always learning and curious about life and who lift you up.
Finding your Life Purpose or Ikigai or Raison d’Etre (reason for being) is vital for living a long, happy, meaningful and fulfilling life. The above steps are quite helpful.
If you’re feeling that you need additional help in this process, please feel free to be in touch.
BOOK your free Clarity Call @www.gigiarnaud.com
With smiles and love,
Dr Gigi
-Jim Rohn, an author, entrepreneur and motivational speaker said,
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.”
So, as Oprah Winfrey says, “Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.”
Amen to this!
Change your Thoughts, Change your Mind, Change your World