How to find your life purpose?
At work, some are doing well financially but the majorities are struggling to make ends meet. In our personal lives, many are subjected to an identity crisis. We suffer from a great void; we feel a lack of purpose and emptiness. Sometimes, it seems that going out of bed in the morning is the last thing we want to do.
Indeed, most of us feel that we must get out of bed, not by choice but by obligation. We feel like a victim, as if we are just undergoing the external events.
If we live like this, feeling tired all the time, there might be a lack of clarity, a sign that your life is not aligned with your ikigai.
The good news is that it is possible to find meaning in our life and discover why we are here. On top of that, it is possible to live the life of our dreams, to wake up with determination and sleep with satisfaction.
“Without a conscious life-purpose we are totally lost, drifting, adapting to events rather than creating events. Without knowing our life-purpose we live a weakened, impotent existence, perhaps eventually becoming even sexually impotent, or prone to mechanical and disinterested sex.” David Deida
What is ikigai?
Ikigai is a combination of the Japanese words “ki” which means “life”, and “kai” meaning “worthy”, “useful”, “result”, “worth”.
As an analogy, your ikigai is like a compass; a burning reason that helps you get up in the morning. It is an activity around which you organize your life.
Our ikigai is expressed by an activity and way of life. By exercising this activity we find meaning and experience our completest fulfillment.
We can use Ikigai and life purpose interchangeably. It is a mix of what we love doing, of what we are good at and of what could benefit other people.
The happiest people in the world don’t do their work for themselves but for the benefit of others. These people feel passionate and fulfilled about what they do.
Understand the law of the Dharma
Everyone has a mission in life, a unique gift or talent that they can put in service to others.
In his book “The seven spiritual laws of success”, Deepak Chopra maintains that we are spiritual beings who took a physical form. We took a human form for a specific reason.
According to the Dharma, we are all equipped with special talents. When uncovered and cultivated, our unique talents bring value to us and everyone around us: ourselves, our close family, our community and even the world.
You possess special gifts that no one else has or at least that you express better than anyone else. Think about singers, actors or motivational speakers. We always feel that they excel in what they do and we just benefit from it.
How to find your life purpose?
To discover your life purpose, your ikigai or your dharma, follow these 3 steps:
- Realize that we all are here to find and express who we really are. We are not human beings having spiritual experiences but rather spiritual beings with a human experience. We are here to find our real self, without ego. Finding who you really are is the first step.
- The second challenge is to discover your unique gifts. What are your main talents? Rate yourself on these specific talents. Highlight especially the activities that bring you the most joy and enthusiasm. When you express these talents, you literally lose the notion of time so discover them.
- The last step is to contribute and find a way to serve. Ask yourself how you can help. Try to match that activity with what the world needs. In a more practical way, I would not suggest you to find an activity that hasn’t any social value. You personally value rock but there is no real social value in it, or it’s not highly demanded. Find other trends because we want to be passionate about something but still get fairly paid for it.
How to find your life purpose?
Steve Pavlina recommends a simple but powerful process to help you discover your life purpose. I personally tried it and it changed my life. I took time to really work on my life mission but I discovered it through this exercise.
Find a quiet place where you would sit comfortably. Make sure you won’t be disturbed or interrupted during the whole process.
1- Take out a sheet of paper or open up a blank word processing document where you can type. I recommend the latter because it’s faster.
2- Write at the top: What is my true purpose in life?
3- Write down an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine. If you’re feeling nihilistic, begin with the answer: “I don’t have a purpose,” or “Life is meaningless,” and take it from there.
4- Repeat Step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your core message.
You can formulate your life purpose in a very simple sentence. For example, a semi-retired entrepreneur’s mission is: “I am a serial entrepreneur and I love teaching people how to start a business online”. Marc Victor Hansen’s mission is “To create and inspire one million millionaires who each give $1 million to their church or charity”.
Through this exercise, I started to cry when I wrote: “I, Sitraka, inspire and empower others to achieve their best possible selves”. Later I would add: “I empower people to become entrepreneurs and create automated online businesses”.