Do you know your life purpose? Many people who already earn a decent income describe success much more than money. For many, it's more about happiness, peace of mind, positive relationships and the ability to contribute to something you truly care about.
We wrote about it before in the context of the Japanese secret Ikigai: towards a long and happy life, but how do you find your life purpose and reason to get up full of energy in the morning?
Here are 7 questions to ask yourself as you try to discover your life purpose.
What were you passionate about as a child?
What did you really enjoy and could you passionately spend hours on when you were younger? From writing to drawing their thoughts, children are actively encouraged to pursue their passions. However, we often stop doing the things we were passionate about as a child. This is often due to a lack of time or pressure from society to pursue something that yields a (usually financial) reward.
Think about those childhood passions. Are you still practicing your childhood passions? If not, why not? Would you still feel passionate about the same things now?
What issues are close to your heart and concern you?
What topics do you like to read about? Think about what interests you most on the news, online, or in the area you love. From the environment to finding new recipes, many people have passions that they weren't even aware of at first.
If you're not sure, don't feel discouraged - it may take you a while to realize what you're passionate about, so spend some free time doing something that you find both enjoyable and productive, and you'll eventually discover your life purpose!
What kinds of conversations do you have with your best friends?
When you are with loved ones, you usually only discuss topics that you find really interesting and enjoyable. Are there any topics you bring up repeatedly to talk about? This is often a good indication of your life purpose.
Don't just think about the topics you enjoy discussing, but also the times when your friends have come to you for advice. This shows you in which areas your friends classify you as a valuable source of knowledge - it could be something you didn't even know you were good at!
What makes the world around you forget?
When you work on your life purpose or something you have a huge passion for, you often lose track of time completely. Often people do not notice the hours that go by and may even forget to eat or drink until they are done. When was the last time you felt this way?
If you didn't have a job, how would you spend your days and hours?
If you didn't have to work and you couldn't stay in the house, how would you spend that time? Where would you go? Most people like to relax and unwind in the evening. However, when people are given unlimited free time, this often encourages people to spend the time in a productive way.
Write down a few ways you would spend your free time, and then try one of those activities on your next day off.
What's on your bucket list?
What do you want to achieve before you die? The making of a bucket list is a great way to discover your life purpose, as the list shows you exactly the activities that you find important and emotionally fulfilling to do in your life.
If you had a dream, could you make it a reality?
Many people have dreams but choose not to pursue them because of the financial risks or fear of failure. Think about your dream in a more positive way and ask yourself "How can I make this a reality?" instead of telling yourself it won't work.
Try to let go of negative thoughts that could keep you from reaching your true life goal. Instead, try to do something every week that will help you make your dreams all come true in the end.
Think about it and get started!
Sources including Entrepreneur (link), Forbes (link), Lifehack (link), TrackingHappiness (link)
