Year after year, I yearned to find my purpose. But the noise from family, friends, and society kept me stuck! I was afraid of stepping into my purpose and living my truth. Is this something you’re struggling with as well?
This blog post was originally published on May 04, 2021, and was updated on May 06, 2022.
Is your ego constantly reminding you – you’re a failure and have “nothing” to offer the world?
Your ego will be the loudest while you’re on this journey to find your purpose.
Followed by overwhelmed and societal noise. Some days will be more frustrating than others!
A chunk of your time will be spent on Google Search Engine in hopes of finding your purpose.
While Google may be a great place to start when finding your purpose, it will not lead you to the answer.
I know this – because I was that person desperately seeking answers year in and year out. Until I finally took a step back. I did the deep work and came to peace with myself.
This allowed me to identify my innate gifts and recognize my strength and passions while reaching my full potential and learning who I am.
Here are the exact steps I took to figure out what I truly wanted and was able to uplevel my life.
Find Your Purpose With These Nine Steps
When we make small, consistent life changes, we can step into our purpose, living a soul-aligned life of true happiness.
Your purpose is to reach your full potential knowing who you are.
STEP 1: Identify what you want to do
What is something you genuinely want to do with this one life of yours?
Connect with yourself at a conscious level through these journaling prompts.
- Write down everything you are chasing in life?
- What did you love doing as a child?
- Are these goals truly what you desire, or was it influenced by a friend, your parents, or someone on social media?
- Where did you get this idea from? Again – is it because your best friend is doing it? Or it’s trending?
- What are your passions?
- If you fail at this, will you keep doing it until you succeed?
- What can you do every day of your life without feeling burned out?
- Can you go an entire year doing this without an income?
- Are you looking to find your dream career or something that sets your heart and soul on fire?
- Suppose you wake on a deserted island. Money and personal commitment weren’t an issue. What will you do? How will you spend the next six months on that island? What will you do? Who will you help?
Your purpose is rooted in you!
Go through everything you just wrote and look at the goals you listed for yourself. Are those goals in alignment with you? If they are not – take some time to focus on what you truly want in life.
Don’t judge yourself or worry about what others think of you if you pursue your dreams. Do what makes you happy.
Still Stuck?
Unable to figure out what you truly want to do with this one precious life of yours?
You can always ask three of your closest and most trusted relatives or friends to identify your strengths and the skills you are great at. And why do they think you are an expert in those areas.
Now, you are not asking them to tell you what you should do in life. But instead, help you recognize your strengths.
It’s much easier for others to identify your strength than for you to see it through your lens.
Write the strengths and skills identified on a whiteboard or sticky notes where you can be reminded of them every day while you attempt to find your purpose.
Your ego will continuously be reminding you – that you’re not an expert on anything whenever these egotistic thoughts pop up. Point them to the “No Vacancy” sign and keep the faith, and believe that you are meant for more. You have a purpose that the world needs.
Dedicate a few days or weeks to polishing your skills by reading and learning more from books and articles and listening to podcasts. Register for personal development training and workshops.
If money is a consideration, don’t let it hinder you! There are hundreds of impactful and free resources and programs in the WebSphere.
Use them and benefit from them.
I used over a dozen unpaid programs before investing in coaching and masterminds.
STEP 2: Embrace what you truly want in life
Now that you’ve identified your purpose. Embrace it unapologetically. And go fearlessly after your dreams.
“Be fearless, be brave, be bold, love yourself.”
-Haruki Murakami.
There will be setbacks. Little to no support from loved ones. Others may ridicule you.
How you respond to this will be your end game.
If you give in to the naysayers and your fear, you will let go of your dreams. But if you step into your truth, let go of your fear, believe in your mission, and trust the process. You will be on your way to living a life of fulfillment.
READ: Is it possible to find your identity after becoming a mom
STEP 3: Find your purpose through visualization
Spend 10 minutes every day just being.
Close your eyes and visualize the future you. See yourself in the moment doing what you want and love with joy, fulfillment, and excitement.
Here are some points you can dream about.
- Where are you?
- Who are you with?
- What are you doing?
- How do you feel at that moment?
- Who are you helping?
- Why are you helping that person?
STEP 4: Believe in your purpose
As I mentioned earlier, your ego will try to control you. Be stronger than your ego and believe in your superpowers. Ditch your excuses and master your mindset. Believe in your worth. Know that you are enough.
You can be everything you are and everything you are meant to do.
Believe that your life can be extraordinary regardless of where you are right now in life.
If you do the work, it will work! To do the work, you have to believe that it will work. But more so, that you can make it work!
I’m rooting for you! Are you rooting for yourself?
STEP 5: Keep the momentum
Just follow your joy. Always. I think that if you do that, life will take you on the course that it’s meant to take you.
Jonathan Groff
There will be days when you lack the motivation while find your passion. Inspiration will not show up and knock on your door. As beautiful as that may be, it won’t happen!
To keep motivated, you need to keep the momentum going. You can do this by taking small and simple yet effective steps every day, even if it’s five minutes.
Say you want to start a blog. The first month you started, you were motivated and excited. You put in the work, and everything is going well.
Then, one morning you wake up and feel blah. Your blog is not going anywhere, and you’re not motivated.
Keep the momentum by opening your laptop and writing for five minutes. A little goes a long way. Once you start writing, the motivation will come to you.
Allow yourself to take small actions daily. By doing this, you will begin to feel good, and when you feel good, you can keep the momentum in finding your purpose.
Think about what’s inside of you that brings happiness and excitement to you.
Whatever you enjoy doing, commit to doing this daily.
Begin to live through your purpose, and you will be guided on how to get that inspiration and joy into your everyday life.
STEP 6: Stay consistent and persistent
A caterpillar will not turn into a butterfly before its time.
Everything in life takes time! You may have to try something a dozen times before finding success. And it’s okay.
Don’t expect overnight success.
Stay consistent and be persistent in your pursuit. Don’t throw the towel in too early because that may be the exact moment the snowball effect could have kicked in if you had kept going.
READ: How to build a life you love
STEP 7: Get out of your comfort zone
You can choose courage or you can choose comfort. You cannot have both.
Brene Brown
Staying in your comfort zone will only take you so far.
Muster up the courage and get uncomfortable by taking the actions you fear because it’s only then you can unlock your true calling.
STEP 8: Build new habits and let go of bad ones
Habits form everything we do in life in one way or the other.
Recognize what habits are holding you back from pursuing your passions. Is it fear of not being good enough? Do you lack motivation and willpower? Are you unable to make time to commit to doing the work?
Once you can identify these “bad habits,” put together a plan on how you break these habits and form new ones.
New habits that will inspire you to work towards your purpose.
READ: How To Build Healthy Habits That will Last
STEP 9: Express gratitude
Gratitude is appreciating what you already have in life rather than always looking for more, thinking it will make you happier. Research has proven that – gratitude makes everything possible, and it is the key to your happiness. (Source)
Practicing gratitude helps you to feel in alignment with your truth. It brings you clarity, joy, and abundance.
When we express gratitude for the many things, abundance in all areas of our lives begins to flow effortlessly regardless of our circumstances.
” Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough.”
—Melodie Beatty
Fostering gratitude helps you to approach life in positive ways.
Appreciating your current situation rather than focusing on lack. When you can focus on the abundance in your life, you will begin to feel in alignment with your desires and your truth. Unlocking your purpose and doing the work you came on earth to do, serving and touching the lives of many in positive ways.
READ: How gratitude can lead to happiness
What Happens When You Find Your Purpose
All your problems do not have to end before you start living a purposeful and meaningful life. Regardless of your circumstance, you can begin to live your dream life. Remember, what you do today cultivates the life you live in the future. So why play small and settle for less?!
Living a purposeful life allows you to:
Experience true happiness:
The feeling of happiness is fantastic emotionally and mentally. It’s one we all want more of. Right?!
Joy helps us feel good and cope with stress during uncertain times. It helps us be resilient, lives a longer life, and maintain a healthy lifestyle – to name a few of the many benefits of what happiness can do for us.
Be inspired to grow
When you figure out – what you truly want in life and pursue your purpose, you will become addicted to growing and learning new things – that will help you enhance your authentic self. When you feel in alignment with what you do, you will be inspired to keep learning ways to grow.
Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.”
―Robin Sharma
Be focus
When you are focused, you can keep the momentum in setting and achieving your goals. Staying focused increases your productivity and allows you to produce better work. It also reduces your stress levels.
Contribute to the success of others
Think of the many people who have contributed to who you are today. Some may know they have, while others may not. Being able to do what you love the best and profoundly impact many lives can change your life. It will encourage you to keep pursuing and living your true purpose.
Better health
As you begin to take inspired actions and express gratitude, you will notice a shift in your mindset. You will start to feel good, and you will want to keep the momentum going when you feel good. By identifying your purpose – you will feel less stressed and more empowered to do what you’re best at. You will begin to appreciate your health by putting in more effort into taking good care of yourself.
Will following these nine steps allow you to find your purpose?
It took me over two years before I discovered my purpose. Before finding my purpose, I lacked confidence and self-worth. Felt victim to the comparison game and fostered a lack of mindset.
Committing to my personal and spiritual growth journey allowed me to identify my true calling and discover my life’s purpose.
I unlocked my purpose by strengthening my self-worth and believing in my innate abilities and the power of visualization. And so can you!
Yes, you will encounter rough paths ahead. I did as well! But I didn’t quit. I trusted the process.
Don’t forget to grab the exact journaling prompts I used to uplevel and live my best life.
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