Like the ebbs and tides of the ocean’s waves, your life’s purpose is forever changing.
In your twenties and thirties, for example, your purpose in life may be to nurture and enrich the lives of your children by being a stay-at-home mom.
In your forties or fifties, your purpose may be to care for an ailing parent.
Everyone’s life purpose is so different and so fluid depending on circumstances they face. Sometimes one’s life purpose is very clear, but other times it’s foggy and hard to identify.
If you’re at a mile-marker in your life where you need to find your life’s purpose, here are seven tips:
1. Identify your passion
Many times one’s purpose in life is simply one’s passion. What is your passion? Is it singing, writing, caregiving, the outdoors, painting? Often times, the activity that makes our heart smile is what God intended for us to use to help others, help ourselves and give purpose to our lives.
2. Pray
Perhaps you have many passions and, thus, many different roads you could travel to share your life’s purpose with others. Or, perhaps you never had the opportunity to develop or explore a passion and, therefore, your purpose in life is very hard to identify. One way to find your purpose is to pray. Ask God to guide you to where he wants you to be and keep an open mind. Where he leads you may be someplace you’ve never considered purposeful before.
3. Hire a life coach
A life coach is a professional that can help you improve your career, relationships and overall life. Unlike a sports coach, they don’t try to fix what’s wrong (ex. a bad swing, a poor gait), but instead build on the positive strengths and abilities their client already possesses. A life coach has the tools and training to help you find your life purpose and then implement that purpose into action.
4. Seek counsel from loved ones
Sometimes our life purpose may not seem clear to us, but is crystalline to our friends and family. If you’re struggling to identify your purpose in life talk to friends, family and pastoral leaders you trust and respect. You don’t necessarily need to ask them their opinion on what your life purpose should be, but have them tell you how they see you. The descriptors that they use may lead you to better defining your purpose in life.
5. Watch videos of keynote speakers
Keynote speakers are those wonderfully motivating and inspiring individuals that command an audience’s attention during a large gathering like a luncheon or conference. Often their words can stir action in us. If you need to identify your purpose in life then spend some time watching videos of keynote and motivational speakers on YouTube. There is a good chance listening to the words of others who have been successful in identifying their purpose in life will help you to do the same.
6. Journal
Journaling is a wonderful way to identify those feelings and find answers hidden deep inside of us. Some people shy away from journaling because they fear it’s just one more piece of “work” they have to add to their day. Some people fear journaling because they believe it is too much “work.” It does not have to be work. Start out by letting your imagination run wild and listing all your dream jobs, for example. In this list you may just uncover your purpose in life.
7. Collect quotes
Often times we can find clarity in the words of others when we can’t identify it in ourselves. If you Google the term “quotes on life purpose” you’ll be amazed by the massive lists online. Some websites have over 400 motivating and inspiring quotes by people from all walks of life and all spiritual persuasions. Spend some time reading them and saving the ones that resonate with you.
Here are a few to get started:
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ― Eleanor Roosevelt
“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” ― Robert F. Kennedy
“Do what you want to do in life and you will see what life will do to you on earth. What you always do, pays what it always pays!” ― Israelmore Ayivor
“One of the first steps toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of what others think about you.” ― DeLores Pressley
Need a life coach or inspirational speaker who moves the audience to action? Check out DeLores Pressley’s keynotes. Discover why OPRAH, Kellogg, Roche, Coca-Cola, and Women’s Associations have DeLores speak on their platforms. Visit www.DeLoresPressley.com to inquire about her inspiring, engaging and interactive presentations that move people to success.
