What makes you look forward to waking up each morning? In order to live a fulfilling life, it’s key to unlock your life purpose – which contains the core motivating piece of your life. Rewinding back in time, my closest friend in high school quietly told me that she wanted to be a doctor👩⚕️. Ever since then, she studied extra hard, spent her after-class time on the right books and the right activities. She graduated med school a decade later with first class honors and is now running her own thriving clinic….
Since that day, I had been waiting eagerly for that moment of epiphany that will fill me up with a strong sense of mission to change the world. And GUESS WHAT? That…. didn’t happen😅.
Finding your purpose in life
If you are here, I am guessing you are more or less like me, who has not much clue about what to do after we graduate. One study even points out under 25% of American adults have a clear sense of purpose, so we are NOT alone! Perhaps we are jumping from jobs to jobs, perhaps we fell out of passion for the job that we used to love for years or the work you do makes you feel unaligned inside.
Many people reduce purpose down to their day-to-day responsibilities or what society has us believe in: I need to support my parents, I need to be promoted to a manager by 30, I want to be successful and leave my legacy on earth and the list goes on. Have you been preoccupied with mundane things that you sleepwalk through life without knowing what you truly love?
Why is it important to find your life purpose?
Einstein once wrote, “The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life.”
Without knowing our life purpose, we can be the best mother, the best wife, the best employee, but feel deeply unfulfilled.
We can have all the money in the world but are miserable inside.
Without knowing our life purpose, we can be disconnected and isolated.
Think of it like one of those mission statements of the company you love (e.g. I love this one from Patagonia) Begin by asking: what matters to us, what makes us truly happy and what inspires us?
Examples of others’ life purpose
- Having a life purpose lights you up & energizes you
Oprah Winfrey – In her book, the path made clear, Oprah Winfrey described the exact moment when she found her purpose. It was in 1978 when she was working as a new anchor — but it didn’t feel right. “I knew I was not my authentic self,” she writes. “And my bosses certainly made no secret of their feelings. They told me I was the wrong color, the wrong size, and that I showed too much emotion.” She experienced the first spark of what it means to become fully alive” when she was “demoted” to the show’s co-host while interviewing Tom Carvel, founder of Carvel ice cream about his story. Ophrah described the moment where she lit up from inside that energized every cell in her. At that exact moment, she knew she wasn’t meant to be a reporter, but a talk show host.
She shared that it’s important not just to look at what pays you, but what feeds your energy. That is a good way to move closer to where you are intended to be.
- The meaning of life isn’t prescribed. It can be created
Humans are a meaning-making species, when our basic needs like shelter and food are secured, the quest for meaning in our lives has always been a distinguishing action of our evolutionary journey. Viktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning (also a psychiatrist and holocaust survivor) found his purpose — to publish a manuscript he had been working on — helped keep him alive during World War II. Frank suggested that we can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: 1. By creating a work or doing a deed; 2. By experiencing something or encountering someone; 3. By the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering. the meaning of life always changes, but it never ceases to be. For Frankl, the meaning of life isn’t prescribed. It’s created.
- Do more of what you love
On a similar note, Steve Jobs always said that the true meaning of life is “do what you love” and be the best at it. He was doing what he wanted to do and complete it as much as he could with the short time he had on earth.
Life is short so do what you love, go where you want to go, reach the heights, and love your family and true friends hard. Say no decisively to the wrong relationship. More about how to identify true friends here.
- “Having it all” doesn’t mean you are happy
While having a successful career in top advertising agencies, making good money, serving good clients, Simon Sinek, the author of “Start with Why”, fell out of love with his work and had been growing increasingly unhappy as the days passed. He was even ashamed of feeling unfulfilled by what he had and so, he tried to hide how he truly felt. It was not until a chat with his close friend in a setting where he felt safe enough that he found that he knew “what he did, how he did it, but didn’t know the why – the meaning behind. Since then he went out and helped thousands of people finding their whys using what he knows and has become his life mission.
- There are both primary and secondary purposes in life, quoting Eckhart Tolle
According to German spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, we should realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Hence the purpose of life “is to be here fully, to align yourself with this moment internally, and to realize wherever you are is where you are supposed to be, and whatever you are doing in the now is what you are supposed to do.” Then, we can search for our secondary purpose, which can be external achievements that change as our lives unfold.
- Not every life purpose has to be “massive”, it can be anything
My favourite Chinese novelist Liu Yichang once portrayed in his novel Drunkyard, a reputed lecturer from Shanghai who had to flee to Hong Kong due to world war II, and since then he couldn’t find a job that suited his intellect, background and status.
When he bumped into his friend from the past who are shocked to find him working as a blue collar, he just plainly said, ”I am content and at peace with what I do, I don’t find this laborious work beneath me, as long as I’m working with integrity, I’ll give my best and I’m fulfilled.
- Know thyself, and rest will fall into place
Another example that is close to our daily lives is my aunt, she always said to us, I know myself inside out, I know my ambition is not to be a business owner or CEO or even a senior manager, I’m more than content to be a manager and have a lot of time to spend with my family.
- Happiness can be an end goal
Through my journey of yoga teacher training with Anahata which branches from Guruji Dr. Asana Andiappana a few years ago, my mentor explained that human’s only goal is to be connected with our internal self or our stream of consciousness, which is in a state of natural bliss, happiness and peace. So the goal or purpose of life doesn’t necessarily be an accumulation of things. No matter how rich we are, money, houses mean nothing if these do not bring us any joy.
Need more example? Here are 5 best Ted talks I found on YouTube on how the authors find meaningful purpose in their lives.
2 Simple Questions to discover your life purpose
After reading other people’s examples, have you begun to wonder what your own purpose is? Try asking yourself these two as a starter:
- What can you do and keep doing for the rest of your life?
- What would you do if you have only 1 year left on this earth?
Still no clue? Here are a few more:
- What gives you energy and spark your soul? (Hint: try looking at what you search for when even if you are not paid to do it)
- How do you want to be remembered?
- What are the important things that you want to spend your time on and will not regret?
Formulating your unique purpose on earth with the Japnese concept Ikigai
The Japanese concept of Ikigai
“Ikigai” (meaning “reason for being”) provides a comprehensive framework in structuring our version of life purpose. The word ikigai defines your meaning of life in relation to your talents, passions, profession, as well as what the world needs and the intersection of all four, is the Ikigaii.
Find your intersection between the four dimensions!
Passion – what you love
Vocation – what you are good at
Mission – what the world needs
Profession – what you can get paid for
What’s my purpose in life?
So, after listing out so many ways to identify one’s purpose of life, what’s my take?
On the first day of work, I have successfully found out what I am good at and the most interested in, that is writing and creating things, hence I went on to create my own creative agency. While doing that for 5 years, I discovered that it no longer makes me as exciting and happy as before, I always felt “fed up” after some 200 jobs later, so I began the 2 years quest of asking myself questions, looking inward, experiencing and exploring new things. I found that what drives my happiness now is not just to market other people’s brand, but to create a platform of my own to empower women who are going through a similar journey like I did. I also want to do so while living on my own terms, be ethical and enjoy a work life balance .
I believe that one’s purpose will evolve as we continue to live, adapt, learn, and grow. Countless studies have shown that living a meaningful life contributes to better physical health and mental fitness. You will feel more connected and even live longer! Now it’s your turn to discover yours. Let me know if my article is helpful for uncovering and formulating your own purpose below!
Want more inspiration on life purpose, here’s 80 best quotes on finding the meaning of life handpicked by me!
FAQ for the Purpose in life
1. What is a life purpose?
Life purpose is the consistent driving force that gives us meaning, fulfillment and happiness during our finite time on earth. Common answers include: making a positive impact on the earth, accumulate wealth while living life on my own terms or just be happy.
2. How do I find my purpose in life?
Ask yourself the right questions (see list here) while going out, trying things and experience life itself. Don’t be afraid of set backs and the “wrong decision”.
3. How to find your purpose as a woman?
Running my female community of over 100+ members, it’s not uncommon to find that women always put others first, are more expected of society to be the caretake of the home, are less likely to stand for themselves and to ask themselves what they want truly. Statistics also show that they are more prone to self doubt. For a women to find their purposes, it is important to take time for yourself, think about what brings you sense of joy, discover your true needs, what you are good at and not just focus on immediate short term goals.
4. Is passion and purpose the same thing?
Passion is more about the emotions of what we do to make us feel good. Purpose encompasses the action we do for others that originates from our “big why”. Life purpose according to Ikigaii encourage our purpose to originate from cause that we are passionate for, what we are good at and what the world needs.
5. Can your purpose in life change?
Your life is not static. It’s important to know that our life purpose can change from time to time as we grow older and wiser. Every decision and setback is an opportunity to help you identify your intend. For the first 10 years in my career for example, I felt happy, exciting and satisfied running major brand and marketing campaign for global brands, but that no longer sparked my soul or energized me since. After recovering my a major burnout, I find out that helping others to gain a healthy and purposeful life a more rewarding purpose for me.
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