Now before we dive right into finding your purpose in life, let me ask you one question.
Which comes first? Purpose or goals?
No, no. This is not a chicken-and-egg type of question. This question is totally legitimate question.
Now ask yourself how often have you heard that in order to get what you want, you must first have a goal in hand.
"A person who aims at nothing is sure to hit it."
~ Unknown ~~
And how often do you heard from others that you need to have a worthy purpose in your mind?
So which comes first? Purpose or goals?
Isn't the answer obvious? Or you still don't get it? Ok, imagine this. Suppose today you're a superman (or superwoman), and you plan to go, let's say, United States of America and you're currently on an island in South East Asia, say Singapore. Would you:
* Fly out into the outer space, know where USA is and then make your journey back to Earth to where you want to go
* Or would you from your known position, fly to another known place and slowly make your way to USA?
Which one will be faster and more efficient? Obviously the second one right?
To start from goals setting then to finding your purpose in life, you're in fact trying to figure out what you want to become from the several goals you set for yourself instead of aligning your goals to what you want to become.
That is probably one of the reason why many people always procrastinate taking actions to achieving their goals. It is not because they can't reach it, rather, it is because they do not have enough passion, desire, motivation and most importantly, a reason, to reach it.
By first finding your purpose in life, you're in fact finding your very personal reason why you think you exist in this word and why you want to become what you want to become.
As mentioned in the previous post about the importance of having your purpose in life, a worthy purpose can help you through tough times when you meet up with challenges and obstacles along the way.
A worthy purpose helps you to keep an eye on the prize while overcoming all obstacles that come your way.
A worthy purpose need not be huge to be considered worthy. Your purpose need not necessary change thousands of lives or change the world others live. If you feel comfortable with it, then include it in your purpose. Else, just leave it out. What are more important is you feel comfortable being who you are.
Your purpose in life is worthy as long as you considered believe it is.
So now having understood the real importance of purpose, let's get down to really finding your purpose in life.
What's important to know is that finding your purpose in life is not a one-time thing. Like learning, it is a life-long, on-going process.
As you moved through different phases of your life, you'll need to review, re-think and refine your purpose in life. And your journey to finding your purpose in life starts from here, all from a gentle nudge to become the real person you're meant to be.
Personal development books like Success Principles, The Power Of Focus etc are some of the wonderful books that help you understand your purpose and guide you through the steps to finding your purpose in life.
Out of those many books, I personally prefer Jack Canfield's Success Principle as it provides you a step-by-step guide to finding your purpose in life through a serious of simple yet mind-provoking questions.
1. List down 2 qualities you want others to see from you. People will remember these qualities whenever they mention about you. Cheerful? Understanding? Playful? Caring?
2. Determine how are you going to express these 2 qualities when interacting with other people? Is it through inspiration, motivation or sharing?
3. Next imagine how will the world be like if everything is perfect? How is everyone communicating with one another? What traits can you see in everyone around you? Remember, the keyword here is "Perfect". How does a perfect world looks like to you?
4. Lastly, you just need to combine the above 3 sections into a paragraph and wolah... you've just completed your first attempt to finding your purpose in life.
"Joy is but the sign that creative emotion is fulfilling its purpose."
~~ Charles Du Bos ~~
Now, don't be many others who just read and forget it about. Put them to actions. Write down your purpose, read it everyday. Print it out nicely, laminate it and carry it with you everywhere you go. Read it with enthusiasm and excitement. Send out positive vibrations that you're fulfilling your purpose in life in everything you do.
Don't worry about perfecting it the first time. As I have said earlier, finding your purpose in life is an on-going process. What's more important is finding a purpose you feel enthusiastic and excited about.
If you wish, go refer to others' purposes or mission statements and get some inspiration from there. Just note that everyone is different, so are our purposes. Refer and not copy.
Find the purpose you can best resonate with and stick to it. Read it everyday and make sure you're taking the necessary actions to fulfilling your purpose in life.
My purpose? Well, it is:
"To live in abundance of wealth, health and happiness. Through coaching, mentoring and sharing, to be a source of inspiration and motivation to others to attain their desires through a joyful, happy and playful manner."
So what is your purpose in life?
"We must have a theme, a goal, a purpose in our lives. If you don't know where you're aiming, you don't have a goal. My goal is to live my life in such a way that when I die, someone can say, she cared."
~~ Mary Kay Ash ~~
