{"id":243,"date":"2023-02-16T18:22:53","date_gmt":"2023-02-16T10:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fgs.bya.mybluehost.me\/?p=243"},"modified":"2023-08-15T00:45:38","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T16:45:38","slug":"life-purpose-examples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesunnyclub.co\/staging\/9426\/life-purpose-examples\/","title":{"rendered":"Wondering what’s your purpose in life? Identify it now with real-life examples & question"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What makes you look forward to waking up each morning? In order to live a fulfilling life, it\u2019s 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\ud83d\udc69\u200d\u2695\ufe0f. 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….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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<\/strong> happen<\/em>\ud83d\ude05.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding your purpose in life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"funny<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Why is it important to find your life purpose?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Einstein once wrote, \u201cThe man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unhappy but hardly fit for life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of others\u2019 life purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Having a life purpose lights you up & energizes you<\/strong>
    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 \u2014 but it didn’t feel right. “I knew I was not my authentic self<\/em>,” 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\u2019s 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\u2019t meant to be a reporter, but a talk show host.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    She shared that it\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. The meaning of life isn\u2019t prescribed. It can be created<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      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\u2019s Search for Meaning (also a psychiatrist and holocaust survivor) found his purpose \u2014 to publish a manuscript he had been working on \u2014 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\u2019t prescribed. It\u2019s created. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. Do more of what you love<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        On a similar note, Steve Jobs always said that the true meaning of life is \u201cdo what you love<\/em>\u201d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        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<\/a> here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. \u201cHaving it all\u201d doesn\u2019t mean you are happy<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

           While having a successful career in top advertising agencies, making good money, serving good clients, Simon Sinek, the author of \u201cStart with Why\u201d, 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 \u201cwhat he did,  how he did it, but didn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. There are both primary and secondary purposes in life<\/strong>, quoting Eckhart Tolle<\/strong>
            According to German spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, we should realize deeply that the             present moment is all you ever have<\/a>. Hence the purpose of life \u201cis 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<\/em>.\u201d Then, we can search for our secondary purpose, which can be external achievements that change as our lives unfold.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
              \n
            1. Not every life purpose has to be \u201cmassive\u201d, it can be anything<\/strong>
              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\u2019t find a job that suited his intellect, background and status. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              When he bumped into his friend from the past who are shocked to find him working as a blue collar, he just plainly said, \u201dI am content and at peace with what I do, I don\u2019t find this laborious work beneath me, as long as I\u2019m working with integrity, I\u2019ll give my best and I\u2019m fulfilled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              1. Know thyself, and rest will fall into place<\/strong>
                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\u2019m more than content to  be a manager and have a lot of time to spend with my family.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                  \n
                1. Happiness can be an end goal<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  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\u2019s 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\u2019t necessarily be an accumulation of things. No matter how rich we are, money, houses mean nothing if these do not bring us any joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Need more example? Here are 5 best Ted talks<\/a> I found on YouTube on how the authors find meaningful purpose in their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  2 Simple Questions to discover your life purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

                  After reading other people\u2019s examples, have you begun to wonder what your own purpose is? Try asking yourself these two as a starter:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    \n
                  1. What can you do and keep doing for the rest of your life?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                  2. What would you do if you have only 1 year left on this earth?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                    Still no clue? Here are a few more:<\/p>\n\n\n\n