You may have been told about the wonders of living life with purpose. It is an amazing feeling to stop living life on autopilot and finally start living your destiny. Many books often lead to the final verdict: purpose is living your passion. It is that one thing you would still do even if you didn’t get paid for it. Living life with purpose is an amazing feeling, it will fill you with flow and conviction to help others. Believe it or not we can all live a life of purpose but we are never told what practical steps to follow to get there. This often leaves people sleepwalking through life having no real direction. Therefore, in an attempt to help give you direction, here is a list of practical tips you can follow to find your passion:
1.Ask “why” to find your life purpose
Many people are hard at work doing the wrong things. They go through life and their career not taking the time to question why they do the things they do. The modern world has ingrained in us the perception that wealth is the ultimate goal. This is the reason why many wealthy people are still depressed and unfulfilled. It is therefore of vital importance to ask the right questions:
- Why are you studying that degree?
- why are you staying in a company that has you clawing at the door to get out?
- Why are you depressed to wake up every morning?
Once you start to question your actions, you will begin to live an awakened life. The problem is that our minds are so cluttered with unnecessary time wasting endeavors that we never have the chance to silence our thoughts and really think. To correct this, mindfulness in your daily routine is therefore essential. A task as simple as observing the beauty of a rose without your mind wandering off, will strengthen the control you have over it. A great way to implement mindfulness in your routine is to strengthen your willpower to create habits.
2. Find possible passions to find your life purpose
Kids are often the most passionate. They love and are bewildered by everything. Strangely enough the things you do as a child can give you an indication as to what your purpose and passion really is. Ask yourself:
- what did I enjoy as a child?
- What activities could keep me occupied for hours?
Figuring out what put you in a state of flow will give you an indication of possible paths that you should explore. The chances are that many things you did as a child will become redundant; however amidst all the childish activities lies your passion in disguise. For you it may be a hidden talent for art disguised in the form of caricatures on your bedroom wall. Take the time to write them down and align it with practical options. For example: a love for art could be translated to you becoming an artist or owning your own gallery. You will then use various methods to narrow this list down, as described in the next paragraph.
3. Do research and narrow it down
Of the realistic life paths you identified previously try to work on narrowing down the list to find your purpose. You can do this in several ways.
- Identify what you love the most and what you are good at. You can eliminate the rest. Choosing purposes based on this criteria will ensure that you excel at achieving your goals.
- Next is to experience or learn more about each option you narrowed down. Watch videos, shadow people, or volunteer in your spare time. Once this is done you will be able to essentially identify what your true purpose is. If not keep working at it and it will eventually come to you.
4. What’s stopping you – overcome your fears
Once you have identified and gotten a feel for what you love doing, ask yourself: what is stopping you? Jot the fears and obstacles down on a piece of paper and the worst case scenario of what could potentially go wrong if your pursued your dreams. Often you will realize that the worst case scenario isn’t as life threatening as you imagined. Remember fear is something you manifest in your own mind. Your fear isn’t the same as someone else’s. It is all a matter of perception.
5. Develop an action plan
Once you realize and overcome your fears, develop an action plan to materialize your purpose. If it’s to start your own business, then develop a side hustle until you have enough income to make it a full time job. Whatever the case, make sure you:
- write down the all plans necessary to achieve the goal you want. Always date them to make them actionable.
- Next set daily milestones to achieve bigger picture goals. It helps to not be fixated by how daunting the future challenges may be by breaking them down into bite size chunks. You will be surprised at the extent you will be moving forward in achieving you aspirations using this technique.
Practice the law of attraction
The final step in achieving your purpose is to manifest it. You are never going to achieve your dreams if you can’t imagine and feel it. Develop vision boards and realistic goals with deadlines. Take time daily to reflect on your goals and visualize what you want to achieve. Feel as if your success is guaranteed and already yours. In no time, it really will be yours!
Carry out these steps if you want to start living life with purpose. You will see each day as a blessing and find joy in every facet of life. Take control over your path and live the life you were destined to.
To learn how to live life consciously and with a clear perspective; read this ultimate guide: A Mindful Approach To Self Actualization
