“Your dreams aren’t just for you.”
This line can easily grab eyeballs of people who don’t dare to dream or still can’t find their purpose in life. Matt Darvas, in The Purpose Manifesto, says that finding your life’s purpose is not just for you. It is for those one, twos, thousands, perhaps even millions of others, who will either benefit immensely or miss out entirely if you don’t realise this.
With these lines, here’s a checklist that will help you discover your purpose in life.
In this article...
Step 1: Visualize where you’ll be after a few years
While it may seems clichéd, but this always works. The point is that it doesn’t matter where you think you’ll be in five years, but visualizing about it will give you an idea of what you want to pursue.
Step 2: Pen down a personal manifesto
This includes a personal or specific basis of behaviour, like living morally, which is concerned with the principles of distinguishing between right and wrong, ethics and moral attitudes. Noting down your beliefs will help you to be consistent in turning your ideas into action.
Step 3: Volunteer for a cause or a Job you’re interested In
Surprisingly, volunteering is one of the most rewarding activities, giving you the opportunity to meet people, learn new skills, challenge yourself, gain confidence, and, most importantly, be a part of your community. This will enlighten you about yourself too.
Step 4: Take up a side project
Even if you have a profession, which you are content with, try opting for side projects, whenever you can. Side projects build creativity, curiosity and perseverance, all of which are highly desirable traits for anyone. It lets you understand the value of time and makes you more productive, while helping you make some extra money too.
Step 5: Stop making assumptions
People are bound to make some costly or rigid assumptions, which are often done unconsciously. These assumptions are usually about what makes them happy, like I should earn this much to live the life I want or I should only be this. However, these assumptions keep them trapped in their comfort zone, where they feel tend to stuck.
Step 6: Address your problems
Addressing your problems makes you feel more empowered and more in control, authoritative and masterful in your current situation. To make a change, you need to do the inner and outer work to earn a “fantastic” career for yourself, without waiting and wasting time.
Step 7: Keep on experimenting
Passion cannot be discovered purely through introspection, you need to have experiences, which could be an internship or a job. Identify the things that you could potentially be interested in and then just go for them.
Step 8: What are your likes and dislikes
Jot down the tasks and job elements that you like and dislike, which could be talking or not talking to people, working independently or not, thinking abstractly, using your brain over your feelings or not. When you are looking for a job, this list will take you to the right one.
Step 9: Notice your strengths
Your strengths are the only things you can leverage on and use to push yourself. Knowing your strengths makes you a more effective and successful leader, essentially beneficial in a career as an entrepreneur.
Step 10: Find the work environment that is exciting
Every individual is excited to work in different work environments, based on their personality and work preferences. Some perform better on group projects, while others on individual assignments.
When you know more about yourself, it becomes easier to understand what will give you happiness and a sense of accomplishment in life.
