Are You Living A Purpose Driven Life? (And How Do You Know If You Are?)

Do you feel like you have meaning in your life? Or do you feel overwhelmed and believe you will never get anywhere from where you are now.

The good news is that this question is the right one to ask. When we want to find meaning in our life, we’ve decided that we want better than where we are at.

Do You Know Your Life’s Purpose?

Often you know what you like to do. You enjoy your hobbies. Maybe you enjoy cooking and eating. Maybe you enjoy the company of friends.

But don’t you wonder why you were put on this earth? Do you find yourself asking, “What do I want to do with my life?” and “How can I make my life better?”

Some people describe it as feeling like being at a party where everyone knows something or a secret and you don’t. We are all in the same boat.

We live our lives clearly seeing other people but not truly seeing ourselves. When you set out to find your life purpose, it means that you are holding yourself, your beliefs, your values, and your interests as the top priority.

You would think it would be easy to want to do things that make you truly happy or feel fulfilled, but it’s amazing how we often ignore that.

So what is life purpose really?

It’s a lot of things, but first and foremost it is the first step to living your life consciously.

When you find yourself feeling energized by everything you do, you will know that you’ve discovered your life’s purpose. You no longer dread the daily grind and are eager to start your day and get as much done as you possibly can.

Why It’s Important to Find Meaning in Life

When we were young, we knew what fills us with joy. As we age, we lost touch with doing things that made us feel loved. And sadly, we sometimes lost touch with the people who shared our passion.

And we also became more sensitive to embarrassment when making mistakes.

When you’re living your real-life purpose you won’t care what others think and you will never feel embarrassed as you pursue it. You don’t mind making mistakes because you know that those are learning steps.

Wouldn’t it be great to wake up in the morning and feel excited and energized about the day? That is why you need to find your personal purpose in life. You deserve a life full of clarity, joy, and focus.

Your life’s purpose also teaches you that which defines you. It can also connect you with your present. When you have a choice and you know your purpose it makes it easier to choose what is important and on your path instead of something that’s unimportant and on somebody else’s path.

At the end of the day, you’ll know that you were able to spend time doing what you love fulfilling your purpose even if it was in a small way. A connection to the present also helps you stay more focused, passionate and gratified with what you have.

Why Does It Seem So Difficult to Define?

The sad truth is that we let ourselves be talked out of our own happiness. There are so many obstacles that you face.

Society has certain standards through which we judge people. While it may not seem “fair,” it happens every day. Young adults are very influenced by societal pressures.

Low self-esteem can also impact defining our life’s purpose. How do you expect to love yourself if you’ve never been loved by others? Or maybe you actually believed when people told you that you weren’t worthy of love.

Worse, maybe your parents compared you to someone else all of your look life when growing up. You are living your life not theirs.

The road to self-discovery can be tough without self-love. You have to learn how to let the criticisms go because they no longer suit you.

Happiness versus Fulfillment

This is an important key for living a purpose-driven life. How many times did you tell yourself that if you just lose the weight, or just meet the right person or just get the right job, that you’ll finally be happy?

This is a dangerous trap. Happiness can change quickly.

Fulfillment is something deeper. It’s unique to you.

You can experience fulfillment when you pursue something you’re passionate about such as a goal or a dream. You may feel fulfilled volunteering. You may not be happy cleaning toilets, but you feel full knowing that you’re making a difference.

Define Your Life Purpose

Frederick Bunchner said, “Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.”

I rather like that, don’t you?

When you define your purpose, it’s like a compass pointing to your true North. You won’t have to wander aimlessly wondering where you’re going.

Don’t Live Someone Else’s Purpose

Does it seem like the people around you are trying to achieve the same dream? Many people believe that their purpose in life is to earn money. Many others believe that starting a family is their goal. But do they ask themselves if it’s truly their dream or is that societal pressure again.

Parents, teachers often say the same things: study hard, get a good job, marry well, buy a house, start a family, and save up for retirement.

And that may be what you want. But it’s better to step back and evaluate who you truly are and what you want for yourself and your life.

The Simple Way to Find Your Passion

Every single one of us was born with a talent. It’s this beautiful jewel inside of us that we need to recognize.

You won’t find it perfectly the first time. In fact, it could take quite a bit of time to refine and polish your gem until you have a clear vision.

Spend some of your time meditating on what has always come easy to you. Then trust your instincts. Spend some time exploring.

What is your Why

Do you know why you have your job? Is it just for the money or do you genuinely get satisfaction from it?

If you have always yearned to write a novel, that could be one of your purposes in life. It could be a stepping stone towards your big Why.

Living Your Life with Purpose and Passion

Once you have an initial purpose, it’s time to set a goal. Achieving your goal brings your purpose to life.

If one of your purposes is to help the homeless, perhaps one goal could be a food or clothing drive. From there, you can find a charity, and then plan out how to get people to donate.

Start slowly as you go down your path. As with all goals, you want to achieve in smaller chunks so your brain doesn’t get in your way.

If your purpose is something major like moving to a completely different area or leaving a high-pressure job to sell hand-made jewelry, you will need a lot of courage. And you should look into smaller goals to get you there.

Evaluate what you will need for your new lifestyle, and work towards that. For example, if you’re going from a high paying job to whatever you can get selling earrings, you may want to reduce your budget while you still have the high paying job and build up your savings. Then you can test out your designs selling online or at a local farmer’s market.

My Final Thoughts

There may not be one thing in your life. You probably have a lot of activities that bring you joy. Each one may be a stepping stone along the same path.

You may need to look for a purpose only when passion is lacking. When you feel disconnected, find a purpose to add in more passion.

Fulfillment gives meaning to success.

Find what excites you. Look within to find your drive, your reason for being, and your calling.