How to Find Your Life Purpose and the Importance of Having One
We are all here for a reason. We were all born unique, an original. No one has ever come anywhere close to being you. And no one ever will. You have a unique soul, made up of your very own skills, ideas, and dreams.
Somewhere within that soul of yours, there lays something altogether more significant; something that is awaiting your call. It is your life purpose.
In this article, I want to explore how you go about finding your purpose, and the importance of finding it.
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
― Mark Twain
It doesn’t always come easy, finding your life purpose; it can take quite a journey. To some, it is a lot clearer than to others, but one thing we can be sure of – we all have one. The thing is, most of us do not know how or where to look for it, even though throughout our lives our life purpose continually shows glimpses of itself to us.
The way to find your life purpose is to see all the elements from your past and to connect them. Your life purpose is a combination of several aspects and elements, and only by looking all the way back into your past, all the way to when you were a little kid, can you hope to find them.
Let me give you two examples from my past to show you what one of these elements could look like. Afterwards, I’ll explain just how to find your life purpose from those elements you have recognized from your past.
This is a story my mom used to tell me, which I vaguely remember. I was in school, about six years old and the teacher asked us “children what do you think would be something good to get taught in school?” I raised my hand and said, “First aid skills, I think it would be handy to learn how to save someone’s life.”
My teacher was amazed to hear that from a 6-year-old and even told my parents. This was a clear glimpse, looking back, of one of the aspects of my purpose in life. This is an element – helping others.
Another element of mine is creativity. When I was young I was always drawing, writing, filming, building – I was always creating. And growing up, I kept on doing it, I kept on creating. That’s another element – creativity.
All of our elements are right in front of us, but you can only truly connect the dots of your life purpose by looking backward. Once you do, once you pick up one of your elements, you will start to see them appearing everywhere in your past life.
A life purpose is not just made up of one element but is the combination of all of those inside of you, usually between 2 and 4. I already told you two elements of my life purpose, let me tell you my last one to show you then how to find your own through the elements that make up yours.
The last solid and clear element that constantly appeared throughout my life was adventure. As a small kid, I always ventured out into the forests, running, climbing, getting dirty. I was ever going on little adventures, and growing up, I kept doing it, and now I travel around the world continuously.
These three elements: helping others, creativity and adventure, appear all the time throughout my life.
By finding your own personal elements, you will be able to give an answer to the question “what is your life purpose?” as it is made out of all those individual factors.
Ask your parents to tell you about what you were like when you were a little kid, or talk to someone else from your family or anyone who knew you when you were growing up. Let them help you remind you of who you are. Ask them what you used to do and loved doing all the time when you were a kid.
The way to indeed being who you are, to being truly happy and feeling satisfied in life and the way to genuinely feel you are living your life with purpose, is to do something where all those elements appear.
You’ve got to find a job that has those elements in it. And if you can’t find one, create your own job, like I did. The internet has given us more possibilities than ever to do just that.
I am a photographer & writer, as well as the founder of The IPS Project. My photography and writing allow me to express my creativity and go on adventures in search of stunning shots and stories. And as the founder of this educational platform, I have created a place where I can be of service to and help others entirely to the extent that I want to take it.
To many, connecting those elements together to find a suitable job could be the hardest part. But in today’s world, there is an endless ocean of possibilities and opportunities to find the perfect one for you, where they will all come together. You just have to look.
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.’’
― Robert Byrne
Find something in life where all your elements appear, because if just one of them is missing, you will feel it in your soul. You will feel that you are not quite living up to the purpose your soul has been created for. Don’t settle until you have found your purpose in life: it’s the meaning of everything.
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So what happens when you’re 59 years old ..been divorced and abondened by your kids..abondenment is hard at this age…also being so sick..then what !!!
Hey there Denis, abandonment is indeed extremely heavy. It is difficult for me to write the perfect words to help you Denis. What I can do, however, is provide you with some helpful resources.
• EP 021 – How to Rewire Your Brain to Be Happy | Dr. Rick Hanson, Ph.D. | The Science of Happiness
• EP 017 – Within the Mind of a Warrior: Rich Hungerford, Former SAS Patrol Commander
• EP 014 – How Your Thoughts Create Your Life – The Power of Positive Psychology
Change is difficult and takes a lot of effort. But the option of change we all do have Denis. Mainly what stands in the way for many is the mind. These three episodes we did on The IPS Podcast talk about the mind and how to change it.
I would start there and afterward dig into the resources, books, and tools, that where given in these episodes.
I am here for you Denis. Let me know after you listened to them what you gained out of it.
Jellis