Let us start today’s article with the wise words of Winston S. Churchill, who said, “It’s not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something.” Many people confuse surviving with living, but they are not the same. Surviving is just repetitively carrying out your daily life with no higher goals or ambition.
Living life means utilizing one’s existence for a greater purpose, which can be anything as long as it benefits humanity and the world. Therefore, it is quite essential to find your purpose in life.
Why Having a Purpose in Life Is Important
The dictionary says “purpose” is the reason something exists, is made, or is used. This sounds quite boring, right? However, once you recognize it, having a purpose is essential for your physical, mental, and emotional health. It comes with a more significant meaning.
According to the researcher William Damon, the author of ‘A Path to Purpose,’ it is “a stable & generalized intention to accomplish something that is at the same time meaningful to the self & consequential for the world beyond the self.”
The fact is that meaningful intentions can help you stay focused on the things that matter most to you, like family, friends, beliefs, career, and more. It helps you to prioritize your life, helping you to walk away from some people or activities that don’t serve your purpose.
It’s the main energizer for staying motivated when things get hard so that you can set and achieve short- and long-term goals. It makes you feel like you are making a difference. According to the research, people can be categorized into four types:
1. The Purposeful
They have found something that is personally meaningful to them & that gives them a sense of the greater good. They have maintained interest over a long period, and they can clearly explain their “why.”
2. Dreamers
They are able to conceive of exceptional concepts and possibly verbalize them, but they have not yet taken any action that is practical.
3. Dabblers
They have engaged in purposeful activities without committing to or supporting their efforts over time. They may struggle to explain their “why.”
4. The Disengaged
They do not have a clear sense of purpose in life, and they do not have any desire to discover one.
Tips On How to Find Your Purpose in Life
If you think you belong to the category of ‘The Disengaged,’ we would like to ask you to get up & search for some purpose in life. If you are struggling to find one, here are some tips that may help you find a purpose in life.
1. Try To Develop a Growth Mindset
A growth mindset and a sense of purpose go hand in hand. Continuously growing and becoming a better version of yourself helps you identify your purpose and motivates you to pursue it. A growth mindset also helps you to:
- Embrace challenges as a chance.
- We need persistence, even after failure.
- Be able to accept feedback & constructive criticism.
2. Create a Personal Perspective
A personal perspective can help you manage stress and find stability in your life. It can also serve as a map that can guide you toward your purpose by recognizing your interior values & finding what’s important to you. A purposeful perspective makes it easier for you to make decisions based on your values and helps you stay motivated as you progress toward your personal goals.
3. Give back
Giving back can improve your sense of meaning & purpose in life. This means when you help others, you also help yourself. Search for ways to be of service. You might want to volunteer in your local community or donate some funds or skills to a cause that resonates with you. You also can try to spread little happiness by doing random acts of kindness.
4. Practice Being Grateful
A study has found that focusing on gratitude and acts of humanity strengthens a person’s sense of purpose. Another study said that gratitude activates the same positive responses in the brain as the act of giving back. It was also found that practicing gratitude can make you more generous and motivate you to do acts of kindness, which contributes to finding a sense of purpose.
5. Be in Touch with Your Passions
Your passions and interests are a good indicator of where your life purpose may lie. But they can be challenging to recognize. They’re so embedded in our ways of thinking that we can overlook them. If you’re unsure what your passions are, ask the people who know you best about them.
Another way to learn about your passion is to think about what you are excelling at. Someone adept at helping others to solve their problems may want to consider a career as a coach or a counselor.
6. Turn Your Hardships into Purpose
We all struggle in life. Overcoming these hardships shapes who we become & offers us our exclusive strengths & perspectives. Many people ask for help when struggling to rise above a huge life change. Some find their purpose in helping others facing similar issues to those they have overcome.
Read More: 9 Breathing Exercises For Stress
7. Be an Active Part of a Community
The purpose is to feel connected to other people, so being an active member of a community can help you get a greater sense of purpose in life. When you discover your purpose, you will also discover that many people share your passions, interests, and perspective.
Joining or creating a community helps you find that connection with others as you work together and move forward toward a common purpose.
8. Try To Be with People Who Inspire You
If you spend time with people who are positive-minded and purpose-driven, they are most likely to inspire you to attain the same mindset. You may even find out your purpose through them.
Look beyond your colleagues & family members. Ask yourself who you would choose to spend the time with. Assess those relationships & make sure you are surrounding yourself with inspirational, positive people who will lift your spirits.
9. Read More
Reading books, mainly fiction, is one of the best ways to enlarge your mental horizons. Nonfiction books help obtain knowledge on specific subjects. But research suggests that reading fiction can offer more benefits.
Reading fiction can improve your empathy. It can also develop critical & creative thinking. This is because when you assume yourself as a character in that story, you imagine how you would react in that situation & imagine the experiences of that particular character.
10. Accept Your Flaws
Accepting your errors can help you to be kinder to yourself when things go south. We all make mistakes, but instead of blaming yourself for your failures, try to see each setback as a chance to grow & a chance to gain experience.
Self-compassion can help you to become more self-aware. When you accept all of yourself, including all flaws, you’re more likely to give the best of yourself in every circumstance. This can be at work, with your family, or while doing the things of your passion.
Conclusion
Behind every successful person is the transparency of purpose. Unless you find yours, you will continue to lead life aimlessly. You may find yourself out of the way & lost, not sure of how to move forward or which direction is ahead. Or, life may be smooth, but one day you will think & wish you had used your time fruitfully.
Recognizing, accepting, and honoring your purpose is the base of a well-rounded life. It needs some courage because it brings questions & ideas that may not be comfortable to you. But it is worth it. Purpose provides an inner compass that guides your decisions and directs you toward experiences that uplift your soul and help you discover your life’s purpose.
