Finding your life purpose is an essential step to finding true happiness and genuine fulfillment, but it is not easy to do. If you ask most people what their life purpose is, they would probably give you vague answers or not be able to answer you at all. Typical answers that you might get include being a good parent or a responsible employee. There is nothing wrong with these answers but they are too vague and general. A life goal has to be specific. According to motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, every person has to find their own definite purpose in life since 'wandering generalities' will never achieve success. For people to succeed they have to be persistent in becoming a 'meaningful specific'.
Here are three simple steps for finding your life purpose.
1. Listen to your inner self. When you know who you are, it becomes easier to find your purpose in life. It is important to know what your strengths and weaknesses are as well as what you are passionate about. One way that you can do this is by starting a reflection journal. Writing down what you think and feel during the day can help you get in touch with your inner life and help you figure out what your life purpose is. Maintaining a journal is something that some of the greatest minds of the past did that helped them develop their transformational ideas that helped to influence the course of history. You can use your reflection journal to answer important questions such as 'what do I want my legacy to be?' and 'What achievements would make me feel the most fulfilled?'
2. Get rid of distractions. When determining your purpose in life, it is very important that you learn to listen to yourself. It is very easy to get distracted by putting too much weight on the opinions of others. Even if they have the best of intentions, you should always remind yourself that it is your life and not theirs.
3. Act on your life purpose. Once you've discovered what your life purpose is, you need to act on it. It is just as hard to fulfill your purpose in life as it is to discover what it is. If you really want to live up to your purpose in life, you have to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally to achieve it.
One last thing to keep in mind is that finding your life purpose is not easy and it may take some time before you do discover it. If you don't find it at once, be patient. You may need to spend a lot of time thinking and reflecting on it. You may even think you know what your life purpose is and then later change your mind; there is nothing wrong with that. Keep in mind that discovering your purpose in life is a process as is fulfilling it. If you successfully find your purpose in life and work to achieve it, you can say that you have fulfilled your mission and now have a legacy that you can leave behind.
