7 Questions to Discover Your Purpose

“Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.”

― Gautama Buddha

It’s one of Life’s big questions that we all ask at some point. What are we here for? What am I supposed to be doing? What do I really want to do?

I’ve always been the kind of person who has had it all “figured” out.

Throughout my life I’ve had many goals and ambitions; I’ve wanted to be a singer, a vet, a horse rider, to working with animals, in music and media management, events… and now I feel I’ve finally found something that I feel truly passionate about.

After going through my own personal process of self-discovery and uncovering my real interests, I decided to put together 7 questions to help to guide you in the direction of your true desires.

So get out your pen and journal, and take this time to focus on you, to discover what you really want and find your purpose:

1.    What makes you happy? (Simple question, but I encourage you to write down all the different things that make you feel good e.g. activities, hobbies, events, people, projects etc.)

2.    What do you consider yourself to be good at? What are your strengths, skills, talents?

3.    What are the things in life that make you completely lose track of time? You know the kinda thing you sit down to do, get totally lost in and before you know it 4 hours have passed…

For me this can be social media, writing blog posts, browsing travel sites, planning future ventures, and looking at incredibly beautiful homes on Realtor (I like to dream).

4.    Who are your inspirations? Who do you admire and look up to for the work that they do? Whether it’s a family member, author, artist, leader, a friend… write them down.

5.    If you could share a message with the world, what would that message be? What do you strongly believe in? What causes do you really connect with?

6.    “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”

I love this quote and it makes a great question. If you knew that you would succeed at whatever you wanted to do in life, what would you be doing? Where would you be? What would your life look like?

7.    Now imagine you’re 90 years old and you’re reflecting back on your time on earth. You’ve lived your dream life; you have been blessed with wonderful opportunities, people and experiences, and you have truly lived out your passions and purpose.

What did this life look like?

What kind of things did you experience?

What work did you do?

Who did you spend your time with?

Where did you go?

Have a bit of fun here and describe this dream life in full detail!

Now re-read over your answers and really acknowledge any feelings, insight or inspiration that has come up for you.

Take note of the ideas that pop into your head and write them all down. If you feel the need to act on anything that has come to light, I encourage you to do it.

Please remember, if something completely different to what you think you want to do or what you’re doing right now comes up for you, that’s okay.  The main message of this post that I want to share with you is that it is okay to change your mind.

I have been studying an Honor’s degree in Music and Media Management for two years now, and I have only just realised that I am actually no longer excited by this course or career path.

What I actually want is to become a life coach, a yoga teacher, travel, and hold spiritual retreats in beautiful places around the world. I want to help and inspire people to live happier, healthier, and more successful lives. I want to have a job that isn’t really a job. I want to wake up every single morning excited and fulfilled in my career, knowing that I am living in my authentic self, and making a life out of my passions and interests.

And this is why I have made the life-changing decision to enroll on a program to become a certified life coach, to take a year out of university, and work to save up to go travelling. It hasn’t been easy, tackling my fears head on and having the courage to really step up and do what I want to do, but I have never been happier.  

So what are your passions? What is your vision of a dream life? 

I’d love to hear about your own personal discoveries, goals and aspirations in the comments below. 

Please feel free to share.