Switzerland | October 28, 2023
Discovering your life’s purpose is the key to unlocking enduring happiness and a profound sense of fulfillment.
Regrettably, many individuals remain unfulfilled because they either shy away from pursuing their purpose or neglect the vital step of clarifying what their purpose truly is.
It’s disheartening that our educational system fails to teach us how to uncover our purpose, a skill I believe ranks among life’s most crucial.
Without purpose, life can feel like a rudderless journey. What’s the essence of existence without a clear sense of direction?
In this blogpost, I’ll unveil a powerful concept that can guide you on your quest to unearth your purpose.
If you’re eager to embark on a journey of self-discovery and unveil your life’s true calling, read on. ✨
Ikigai
“Ikigai” is a Japanese term that beautifully encapsulates the concept of a “reason for being” or, in other words, the pursuit of a meaningful life.
According to Japanese philosophy, your Ikigai, resides at the intersection of four fundamental aspects: what you love doing, what you excel at, what the world truly needs, and what can sustain you financially.
The key to discovering your purpose lies in your ability to respond to these four crucial questions with utmost clarity.
Now, let’s delve a little deeper into each of these points.
What’s your passion?
The first question that you need to clarify to find your purpose is your passion.
What do you love doing the most? What brings you fulfillment?
If you don’t know what you’re passionate about, here are some questions you can reflect on:
- What makes you enter a state of flow?
- What energizes you?
- What could you talk about the whole day?
- What kind of content do you enjoy consuming?
- Who inspires you? Why?
- What did you love doing as a child?
If you’re still lost and cannot answer these questions, the best thing you can do is to try out as many things as you can and expose yourself to different kinds of information.
Engaging in different activities and exposing yourself to diverse information will help you figure out what you like and what you don’t like, gradually leading you to discover your passion.
Write a list of 10 different activities – music, sports, arts, etc. – you would like to try, and engage with them for a while until you figure out whether you like them or not. Do the same with different topics you’d like to dig deeper into and start consuming content on them (e.g., videos, documentaries, books, podcasts, etc.).
As with anything new, in the beginning, it might not be as enjoyable as when you’re already into the topic, so don’t give up straight away.
After a few months, evaluate whether there is anything that you truly enjoyed doing or content you enjoyed consuming. If so, dig deeper into it. If not, stop doing these activities and move on to new ones.
Repeat the cycle until you find things that you really enjoy doing and, in the process, find your passion!
What does the world need?
The second aspect you should clarify to find your purpose is how you can make a meaningful contribution to the world.
How can you leave a positive impact and create positive change?
To address these questions, contemplate global issues that genuinely resonate with you and those to which you aspire to contribute.
Here are some global challenges:
- Sustainability: How can you help protect the environment and create a sustainable future?
- Freedom of Speech: How can you support the fundamental right to express one’s thoughts and ideas?
- Income Inequality: What can you do to reduce disparities in income and provide economic opportunities for all?
- Mental / Physical Health: How can you promote well-being and tackle mental and physical health challenges?
- Poverty: In what ways can you alleviate poverty and improve the lives of those less fortunate?
- Food Security: How can you contribute to ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for everyone?
If you’ve never explored these questions and feel uncertain, you can begin by googling “global issues” and familiarize yourself with as many as possible until you identify a few that deeply resonate with your values. Following that, reflect on how you can contribute or conduct research on existing initiatives aimed at addressing these challenges.
What are you good at?
To create a meaningful impact in the world, it’s essential to leverage your individual skills and abilities. Therefore, the third aspect of finding your purpose involves identifying your strengths.
What are your talents and skills that set you apart? This step might pose a challenge, particularly if you, like me, sometimes feel competent in many areas without excelling in a specific one.
If you find yourself in that situation, I recommend seeking input from your family and friends. Ask them what they believe you excel at, and consider journaling your thoughts in response to these four questions:
- When do other people approach me to ask for help?
- What kind of non-appearance related compliments do I get?
- What subjects am I (was I) good at school?
- What are successful projects I led and what skills did I need for them?
What can you be paid for?
Once you’ve identified your passions, recognized your strengths, and determined how you can contribute to the world, it’s time to explore how you can earn a living based on these elements.
This is where your creativity can shine. Consider various career paths, whether they be in the corporate world, entrepreneurship, freelancing, or any other avenue that resonates with you. The possibilities are virtually limitless, so if you’re seeking inspiration, a quick online search can unveil a wealth of ideas.
While we all recognize the necessity of financial stability, and the possible need to temporarily engage in work that doesn’t align perfectly with our passions to meet our basic needs, it’s so important that you keep investing time and energy into building a livelihood that aligns with your purpose. This path is the key to achieving a genuinely successful, meaningful, and fulfilling life.
Here are some other articles that might interest you…
- How To Meditate: A Complete Guide For Beginners
- 4 steps to overcome your limiting beliefs and achieve your dreams