"Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value." --Albert Einstein
Now that you have played around with some exercises that can help you hone in on your true purpose, it's time to dig a little bit deeper.
You can start by asking yourself these 7 questions.
The questions are as follows (please write down your answers):
- What do I LOVE to do?
- What is it I ALWAYS notice?
- What would I do for FREE?
- What do I love to LEARN about or TALK about?
- What would I REGRET never trying?
- If someone were able to look in my private library, what would they find?
- What SPARKS my creativity?
Spend some time answering these questions. Write things down and contemplate them. Think about what it is you love to do, beyond anything else and write that down. Think about those things you always notice about people or situations, and write that down. Think about what you love to learn about, and talk about and what you would do for free.
Ponder what you would regret if you never tried it. Think about the books in your library or the things you love to do in your spare time. Think about your passions? What is the one thing you love to do that causes you to lose track of time? Think about these things now and take the time to answer these questions, for within these answers lies the secret to your life’s purpose.
Next let's do the...
The Joy Review Exercise
Sometimes the word "passion" or the idea of creating a Life Purpose statement can be daunting. The Joy Review is a wonderful exercise that can help you get back in touch with the things that bring you joy.
Joy is essentially your internal guidance system to help you live your life in accordance with your life purpose.
You know you are on track if you are feeling joy, and we know that when we are not experiencing joy we could be off track. While it may not be probable to be happy 100% of the time, you can strive to be happy much of the time.
On a blank sheet of paper, answer this question...
As you look back over your life, try and remember those experiences or those times that brought you the most joy? Think back to what were you doing?
Write down what comes to you. Don't overthink this, use the very first thing that pops into your mind. That is your intuition speaking.
Now as you examine this list try and see if there are any common elements or themes to the times when you felt the most joy. If there are themes or common elements, note what those are.
Finally, reflect on this list.
Now let's do the...
The Repeating Question Exercise
(You can try this exercise on your own or with a partner if you so desire)
You will ask this question of your partner and then wait for your partner to respond. Then you simply ask the question again and again. Keep repeating the question for about a minute or so.
The question is:
What do you want?”
This is a fun exercise to do, even though it seems very simple. If you tried this exercise with a partner, you might notice that the energy shifts when you focus on those things you want.
When you focus on what you want, you raise your energy and when you focus on what you don't want, your energy lowers. Many people spend time focusing on what they don't want! When your focus shifts to what you DO want, your energy rises.
Next, you can try listing 20 things that you really want, and see what you come up with. This is kind of like brainstorming.
What do you really want to do, be and have (list 20 things)?
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
The 20 Things I Love to Do
Another part of this discovery process involves finding out and getting clear on those things you absolutely love to do.
If you've never written down 20 things you love to do, well this could change your life!
The 20 things I Love to do...
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
- ___________
Now how do you feel about your life purpose?
Remember, this may be something that will evolve more slowly over time. Don't get discouraged if your life purpose has not yet been revealed. Keep doing the work and repeating the exercises and focusing on what really makes you shine.
If you are not living your life in congruent with your passion or purpose, you may need to re-examine what your passion and purpose truly is. Defining your passion and purpose is really all about being true to who you really are. You don’t have to try to be anyone that you are not comfortable being because you are perfect just the way you are.
Your unique struggles make you who you truly are and you can use your experiences in life to make an impact in the world. When you are true to who you really are, you don’t have to pretend to be something you don’t want to be
The more you can see yourself living and fulfilling your life’s purpose, the easier it will be to bring it forth because everything starts in the mind.