The path of discovering your life purpose is the path of discovering yourself. Following and realizing your life purpose is the key to a fulfilling life and an essential step in your personal development journey.
If you ever wondered, “What is the meaning of life?” or “Why am I here?” discovering your purpose will feel like an answer to that question.
The meaning of life purpose is not only to make yourself happier and lead a more fulfilling life but, more importantly, to contribute to the world and help humanity advance.
If you’re not yet sure what your purpose exactly is, do not worry; there is an easy way for you to discover it and start living a life filled with meaning.
Meaning of Life Purpose
The term “life purpose” refers to the belief that we exist in this reality for a specific reason, for a higher cause that places us in the grand story of human existence.
Our purpose is related to an activity or occupation that is an integral part of our soul’s mission. It helps our world or community to advance, and, in return, makes our lives more fulfilling.
Discovering your purpose means finding that special thing you are meant to do in this lifetime. We all have many small purposes in our lives, but there is one that relates to how we spend the majority of our time.
Fortunately, we will enjoy doing this one thing more than anything else.
However, just because something is our purpose, that doesn’t mean that following it will be an easy path.
Personal development enthusiasts, including myself, often hope that by following their purpose, their lives might just get easier, and the ‘rules of life’ won’t apply to them. Unfortunately, that is not possible.
We can align with our purpose and have a more meaningful life, but the rules of life will still apply. Life might still be challenging, but we will enjoy it because we are where we’re meant to be.
If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.
~ Marc Anthony
How to Discover Your Life Purpose
A simple yet profound Japanese philosophy called Ikigai describes a formula to discover your purpose while also being rational about your needs.
Your Ikigai identifies as one or more occupations that are a combination of:
“What you’re good at, what the world needs, what can create success, and what you love to do.”
‘What can create stability or success’ is the rational part of the equation.
It is like when you were 13 and wanted to be an actor and devote all your time to a passion, but your parents stepped in and reminded you that you need to have a ‘safety net.’
Maybe some occupation is your Ikigai, but there’s more to think about. Can this occupation actually provide the lifestyle you would be happy with?
Your Ikigai should not make you miserable and broke. Surely, it can require adapting from your side, but it will probably be in line with the lifestyle you see yourself in.
Naturally, your Ikigai is something you love to do, but another question to ask yourself is, are you/can you actually get good at this? We may enjoy doing many things, but that doesn’t mean that is your purpose.
Most importantly, your Ikigai is something your world or community needs. Not every purpose will be grand, but it will be making a positive impact on someone’s life, hence making a positive impact on the world.
Questions to Help Define Your Life Purpose
In order to discover your life purpose, simply answer these questions as honestly and objectively as possible. Try to avoid being negative and thinking there is nothing you are good at or being too confident about something.
Try delving deep while still being objective.
- What is something you’re good at? List everything you have, even remote talent or expertise in.
- What do you truly love to do? Out of all of these things?
- What does the world need? Or the people around you?
- What can actually become an occupation and bring some sort of benefit to you?
Put these answers on a sheet of paper, visualize that one thing you would like to do for the rest of your life, and hopefully it will match something you are good at and is useful to both you and the world.
The Obstacles to the Life Purpose Path
We have to be real; what might be someone’s Ikigai is not necessarily easy, stress-free, or attractive. There are thousands of different occupations in the world, and most of them contribute to making our world better and our lives easier.
Contrary to popular belief, every occupation is equally important. A janitor and a fireman are both crucial. Someone needs to do unattractive, stressful jobs to assist the world, while someone else may have a less demanding purpose in their occupation but might fulfill a greater purpose in their personal life.
The truth is, modern capitalist life does not give us much space or time to work on our projects. Most of us barely have time to maintain an organized, healthy lifestyle, but that doesn’t mean we should give up and not find time to pursue our Ikigai.
Sometimes the wrong lifestyle and work can drain so much energy from us that we don’t find the motivation to pursue our dreams, but we should always pursue what is right; we owe this to ourselves and the world.
It might not be easy to follow your Ikigai, but it will be worth it.
“Let’s stop expecting life to be easy and start being comfortable with adversity, discipline, and uniqueness.”
The ‘Purpose of Life Purpose’
One truth needs to be acknowledged: whether we like it or not, we are not on this planet solely to enjoy ourselves and exist until the end of our time.
We are here to contribute to the world and the people around us, to realize the meaning of our life purpose, while some form of sacrifice should be an expected part of life.
Avoiding intentional ‘sacrifice’ by not putting effort into following your dreams will lead to a different kind of suffering that was not chosen and is therefore worse. Make the choice to invest your energy into the things that matter to you.
“Choose your sacrifice, and within it, choose your suffering. It will find you in life regardless, so better choose a suffering you will enjoy.”
One important thing to remember about life purpose is that the universe made us naturally inclined and happy while doing something we were meant to be doing. On the contrary, whenever we are not on our highest path toward our purpose, life will feel out of balance, unfulfilling, and dull, pushing us to seek more.
In the long run, doing something you don’t enjoy is not beneficial for you or the world. Not only can you waste your potential, but you might also risk living an unfulfilling life and face regret in later years.
Small vs. ‘Big’ Life Purpose
That unique reason we are here might be very ‘simple’ or very significant, at least in human terms. Every life is important and so is every purpose. We should never compare ourselves to others, because everyone is on their journey for a specific reason, but we’re all contributing to the same cause.
Almost every purpose can be considered small if we perceive it in the general purpose of humanity and the world.
A political leader who initiated change might be considered to have had a much bigger purpose than a hospital nurse. Similarly, an inventor might seem to have a much greater purpose than someone who works a simple office job.
Because of the complexity of impact and the butterfly effect, we can never know how our individual lives impacted the world in their own major way.
“You can never really know how you touched the lives and the world around you, and what great, tiny purpose you might have already completed.”
Conclusion
We can never know everything, not even half of the truth about our experience on Earth, at least not ‘for sure’. We can never confirm certain things about the universe, the world, or ourselves, but some things we can know internally.
Our purpose is a part of our truth that we carry into this life, maybe even into the other one. But one thing is for sure: we will never live a greater life than a life aligned with our purpose.
I truly hope this little piece of my Ikigai helped you discover yours. Do not be afraid of anything; you have all the support you need to follow it; just believe that you do.
Ikigai translates to ‘’What is worth living for’’.
