One common source of happiness for people who seem to be pervaded with deep happiness is a sense of purpose. Having something bigger you’re working towards and a bigger vision of what you hope to achieve with your life will fuel you in a million different ways and get you through the toughest of times.
Finding Your Purpose
It’s nice to think that we were all born with a purpose. Whether this is true or not, most of us don’t have a clear sense of what our purpose is. We tumble through life, trying to make sense of what we want to do, what we think we want to do, and what we have to do. We confuse one thing with the other and let us be guided by the opinions of others and our cultural traditions.
Journeying along without a sense of direction, without a sense of purpose, makes life really confusing. It makes it hard to prioritize our time and energies, and it increases the chaos of life. So it really pays off to find your inner sense of purpose. To figure out what you feel passionate enough about that you want to commit your life to it.
Questions to Find Your Purpose
So how do you find it? We are being bombarded with opinions all the time. How do we cut through the noise and listen to our inner self? You can begin exploring your purpose by answering and reflecting upon the following questions:
- If you had a magic wand, what would you change about the world?
- If money wasn’t an issue, what would you spend your time on?
- If you were to be remembered for one thing, what would that be?
Perhaps, free write your answers to those questions, perhaps draw them, or talk to them with a friend or a mentor. If an answer doesn’t appear immediately, it can be very helpful to just express your thoughts and let the process of expression create the answer you need.
Here is a little video to inspire your purpose exploration:
The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Living With Your Purpose
Once you know what vision is important to you, you are ready to set out on a new way of life full of meaning and happiness. Having a purpose doesn’t mean that life is going to have fewer challenges for you or become less bumpy. But those challenges and those bumps are going to be a lot easier to overcome because you have a larger perspective on life.
This is only going to work if you remind yourself of your purpose on a regular basis. It should be top of mind at all times and inform all of your decisions. This might seem radical, but it pays off when times get tough. Having some kind of direction for our lives creates a sense of security and gives you an answer to difficult decisions. For example, if you’re unsure what field to study or in what field you want to look for a job, you can ask yourself what would bring you closer to fulfilling your purpose.
Advantages of Living With Your Purpose
When you live in alignment with your purpose, you:
- wake up motivated and go to bed satisfied
- create a red thread that runs through your life
- reduce the confusion and improve your focus
This will, ultimately, bring you happiness and a deep sense of fulfillment.
We may all seek happiness, but we also all seek a sense of meaning in our lives. Having a purpose provides you with both. So go exploring, pirate. Find your bigger personal perspective and invite a great source of happiness into your life.
