How to begin creating your Life Purpose

Purpose is not found, it is created. We don’t find our purpose on a mysterious mountaintop, doing occult practices. We work day in and day out, doing what we are passionate about, and through that process live a life of purpose. The purpose is there most days, but the motivation to actualize it isn’t. Surprisingly, it can even be difficult to do what you love, when you have to do it every single day. And then there are days when you question your purpose. This is all part of the process. The process of constructing your life’s purpose. It is not a thing, a goal or a career, it is the journey of a person, evolving through their choices, and the experiences it brings about. As purpose is ever changing, we constantly re-discover our purpose. We do this, not by thinking about it, but by cultivating the discipline to do so regularly, and to the best of our potential that which we are passionate about.

Sometimes, (actually most of the times) our purpose is outside of/ or greater than the things we are passionate about. We need to cultivate a relationship between our skills, passions and recognizing a societal need. Our skills can be seen as things that we have specialised knowledge about. Things we do that can’t be replaced very easily, by the majority of people (or robots). Our passions are those things that we would spend our time doing, if we didn’t lack money. Things that we wouldn’t mind doing for the next 20 years. If we can combine skill with passion, we have already created purpose. To be successful at this purpose we must create a service or product out of it and link it to a societal need. If society needs what we can offer, we are more likely to stick to our newfound purpose. Simply because the opportunity to thrive is so much greater, and we feel deeply satisfied about our contribution.

Most of the time, it is easy enough to identify our skills. However, it is not always easy to see what we are passionate about. If we are unclear about the things that we are passionate about, it pays to take time off from our regular schedules. To spend time in relaxed exploration. The hardest bit yet, is to discern what societal need can be met by mixing our skills and passion. Entrepreneurs go about exploring this by themselves. Though, it is always good to realize that there are others with similar passions, that you can go work for. Try to recognise what it is that they are lacking, and whether you can fill that space. If they are doing something unconventional, don’t simply approach them for a job. Instead convince them that you have something that they can use and grow from. Your world is your creation; don’t give away your freedom to create, by spending time doing things you don’t enjoy.