how to find your purpose and do what you love

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If yous don't feel fulfilled by or happy with your life, y'all may make up one's mind to evaluate your life'southward purpose. While this can be a challenging self-examination that may atomic number 82 you lot to believe that you've been living life the "incorrect way," take middle; it's never besides late to brainstorm living the life that you want to live—a life that is meaningful and happy. Find your life's purpose, then accept action to implement the kind of life you really want to live.

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Continue a purpose journal. Journaling is a useful tool for making any changes to your life or your perspective. Create a dedicated journal that will help y'all write down and explore your thoughts about your life's purpose, your passions, and your joys.^[1]
- Do non worry about how your writing sounds; this periodical is but for you, and no i else will read information technology. It's important that you are completely open and honest, not that the writing is particularly proficient.
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Question yourself. To begin assessing your life's purpose, it'south of import to appraise what you love to do, what you lot currently practise, and what needs to change to live a more purposeful life. Some questions to consider are:^[ii] ^[3]
- When take you been happiest in your life?
- What has made yous truly proud of yourself?
- What qualities practise you lot most adore in other people?
- What makes yous feel really alive and energized?
- How happy exercise you feel on an everyday ground?
- If you had one week to live, how would you spend that week?
- What "shoulds" are overriding your "want tos"?
- If you could change 1 thing about the world, what would information technology exist?
- What i change could make your life happier?
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Create a list of your interests and passions. Write down the things that you enjoy spending time doing. These can be related to your work, your personal life, or your abode life. They should exist things that make y'all happy, that y'all actually bask doing. These are things that you enjoy doing without getting paid to do them, and they are probable things that cause you to lose track of time.^[iv]
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Write down what y'all dear. The things and people that you dearest are very important to the quality of your life and how you lot spend your time.^[five] Acknowledging the things and people that yous love can help you lot focus your passions and your purpose. Focusing on things that you love with your eye, rather than value with reason, can bring you closer to your true passions.^[6]
- If your main loves are your family, you are unlikely to feel fulfilled if your life is dominated by a career that causes y'all to spend about all of your fourth dimension away from them.
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Find your joy. This is similar to your interests and passions, but finding your joy is a piddling more than focused.^[7] To find your joy, think most what makes you feel blissfully happy. Think almost the final time you laughed then hard your sides hurt, or smiled so much that your cheeks were sore.^[viii]
- Information technology can be useful to think nearly the blazon of play you well-nigh enjoyed every bit a kid.^[9] Does similar play (or work that mimics that sort of play) bring you a childlike joy?
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Use backwards planning. Imagine yourself at 90 years old. Imagine that you lot are looking back on your life, and yous are completely content that you lived a meaningful, wonderful life.^[ten] Imagine what the specifics of that life are, and then work backwards through time to make up one's mind what yous need to do by each decade between now and 90 in order to live that complete life.
- For example, say that you picture yourself 90 years quondam, surrounded by great-grandchildren, happily retired later a successful career helping your community, living in your ain dwelling house with a lot of land.
- This tells you lot that you lot want to take a family, that you'd like to have a career helping others, and that you would like to live independently in a rural setting.
- Your backwards planning could lead you to determine that you should start having children when you lot are 28, you'd similar to find a position equally a social worker by 25, and you should maintain your health constantly then that you can continue to live independently in old age.
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Don't heed to social norms. It's mutual to think most what others expect from yous. Parents, friends and society have certain expectations from us all with expert intentions. Social norms might tell yous to not get-go that business, not quit your task or take a pay cut for a less prestigious task. But ultimately you are the just one that can decide what'south right for y'all.
- Retrieve from first principles - what change do yous personally want to see in the world if y'all didn't care what others thought of you?
- Be conscious of what thoughts are your own vs. those passed onto yous. Have you ever idea starting a business organization is hard? Or that yous can't brand money following your passion? These are beliefs generally passed down to usa that may not be true. Retrieve to yourself what thoughts are yours vs. what others take told you lot.

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Determine the purpose of humanity. This is a weighty question, and it may take some time and reflection to make up one's mind, but if you can determine what you remember the purpose of humanity is, you tin scale that idea down and utilise information technology to your own life.^[11]
- For instance, y'all may determine that the purpose of humanity is to aid each other thrive in the world. Your own personal purpose can then exist to assist people in your customs thrive, and you tin can decide what steps you demand to have to work towards that.
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Find people who inspire you. Think about people whom you find truly inspiring. These can exist world leaders, historical figures, or people from your ain life. Think about why these people are inspirational, and decide specific actions or characteristics they have that you'd like to emulate. .
- You may desire to continue this listing in your purpose journal. Call back that y'all exercise not have to adore or emulate every aspect of an individual—rather, you are using the individual to home in on specific characteristics that you would similar to have too.
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Go out your chimera. Leaving your personal bubble, or your comfort zone, means having a broader view of the world and the people in it.^[12] We tend to exist somewhat self-centered in our day-to-day lives, but leaving your bubble gives you the opportunity to view the wider world effectually you. With this renewed realization of the rest of the earth, you lot can more considerately see your identify in the world and evaluate your passions and purpose.
- In one case yous have a greater sensation of other people around you lot, decide how you want to collaborate with those people. Make up one's mind how you lot would similar other people to view you in relation to themselves, and so piece of work to exist that person for them.
4
Ask friends what your strengths are. If y'all are having difficulty assessing yourself, or if yous'd like a second opinion, enquire some close friends what they think your strengths are.^[13]They may offer some insight that yous have trouble seeing yourself.
- For example, you may non realize that your own actions inspire your friends to want to emulate you. A friend might say, "I think you are slap-up at putting a plan into activeness once information technology's made, rather than waiting for someone else to go started." You can tie this strength into your purpose.
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End thinking in absolutes. Many people recall that their purpose (or their career, or their interests) take to circumduct effectually ane thing.^[14] But sometimes our passions are about balancing multiple interests that fulfill different aspects of our needs and wants. Realizing that your ane purpose (if yous cull to limit it to one) can exist fabricated up of multiple facets can offering you more flexibility in setting that purpose.
- For example, if your life'southward purpose is "to bring happiness to myself and others," you may have the sub-purposes "to experience fulfilled in my piece of work, to exist patient with my family, to make my kids laugh, and to listen well to my friends." All of these work towards your greater purpose.
- The advantage to having multiple facets to your life's purpose is that if one expanse is lagging or not going well, you won't experience similar you're entirely off track. For example, if your work life is not fulfilling, but your home and social lives are, yous can still feel like yous're working towards happiness.
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Set your purpose. Later on you lot have evaluated yourself and expanded your view outside of yourself, make up one's mind what y'all'd like your life'south purpose to be. Remember that it'south okay if it changes in the future. It's important to have a goal and direction now, even if yous alter it later as you change and grow.
- Once yous have decided your purpose, write it down. Post it somewhere that you lot can read it every day, reminding yourself of what y'all want in life. You lot can ask yourself each day if you've washed things to work towards that purpose.

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Write your personal mission statement. Another fashion to think of your life's purpose is to frame it as a personal mission statement. Yous may want to convert your set purpose into a personal mission statement, which tends to take a more agile, actionable format.
2

Meditate to set your intentions. Meditation or mindful yoga tin be useful for setting your intention for your twenty-four hours, your week, your year, and your life. Clearing your heed and allowing yourself to motion picture your life the way you'd similar for it to exist can help you make steps towards living that life of your dreams.^[15]
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End trying to delight other people. Even if your purpose has a social chemical element to it, trying to please people around y'all on a daily ground is probable to hinder, not help, your overall purpose. Be certain that the actions y'all're taking in your life are your choice, non the choices of other people around you.
- Frequently, people exercise not know what is probable to brand them truly happy, so even if your goal is to bring happiness to yourself and others, meeting the firsthand demands of others won't help you live your purpose.
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List the deportment that lead towards your purpose. In your purpose periodical, write a list of actions that yous can take that will lead you straight towards your life's purpose. You may non be able to take each activeness immediately, but realizing the steps that you should take to reach your purposeful life can help you lot move in the right management.
- For case, if your current career is not fulfilling and doesn't mesh with your life'due south purpose, you may write "discover a new career" on the list. However, y'all may not desire to immediately quit your electric current chore before finding a new one due to the practicalities of paying bills and keeping your family unit housed and fed.
- Separate your list into brusk-term, medium-term, and long-term changes.
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Practice the things that atomic number 82 you to fulfill your purpose. Once yous take determined the actions yous will need to take to fulfill your life's purpose, take those steps. Brainstorm with the short-term changes and piece of work towards long-term changes. Sometimes taking activity instead of thinking too hard can bring yous greater clarity and happiness.^[16]
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Revisit your journal. Be certain to go back and read your purpose journal and related lists periodically to brand changes, add to information technology, or remind yourself of your purpose. Subsequently some time has passed, you may discover yourself globe-trotting dorsum into the comfortable familiarity of your daily life. While at that place is nothing wrong with this, you will likely feel more fulfilled by and large if you are working toward your now-established life's purpose.
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Avoid activities that counter or distract from your purpose. It would certainly be hard to avoid doing whatever activeness that doesn't directly piece of work towards your life's purpose. If y'all want to bring happiness to yourself and others, but you don't like doing laundry, y'all will likely still demand to do laundry occasionally. Nevertheless, y'all tin can avert doing activities that work against your life's purpose.
- For instance, if your purpose is to bring happiness to yourself and others, yous should avoid proverb things that are hurtful to others. Y'all should avoid things that brand you truly unhappy, like spending time with individuals that cause you lot to feel bad about yourself.

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Proceed in mind that frequently, we find our calling along the style. It is often stated afterward one'due south life has ended that they had a purpose, based on the events and choices of 1'due south life.
As yous increase the amount of time spent fulfilling your life'south purpose, yous'll notice information technology'southward easy to brand decisions in life as you ask the question "Does this opportunity fit in with my passions, deportment, and genius?" Over fourth dimension, you lot'll spend more and more than of your days living your life'southward purpose, and you'll feel happier and healthier than ever before.
We oft look at our purpose as a fashion to answer everything right now or something that can only be fulfilled way into the future. While one's life purpose may ultimately exist fulfilled far into the futurity, observe ways to start NOW.
Sometimes information technology's better (and easier) to know what yous don't desire than to know what exactly you desire. If you need to, offset by listing what you don't want to practice (or exist), so work towards figuring out what you practise want.

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Article Summary X

If y'all feel like y'all're struggling to find your purpose in life, write downwards the things in your professional person or personal life that yous savor doing and so you accept a articulate thought of your passions. You should also try request yourself questions to find out what makes you happy, like "When was I happiest in my life?" or "Which qualities exercise I admire most in others?". To get aid answering these questions, try request close friends what they retrieve your strengths and talents are, which will aid you determine what yous're good at. Additionally, endeavor to do activities that put y'all outside your condolement zone or pose y'all with new challenges, since it will exist easier to see your place in the world when you look at it from a new angle. Once you've identified a goal that would help you attain your purpose in life, like irresolute your career, write downwards a series of smaller steps to help y'all get at that place. For tips from our co-author on how to use backward planning to find out what yous want from life, go on reading!

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