How to find your life purpose?

Dr. Purushothaman
November 28, 2013

 

Finding your life purpose is a lot harder than most people think it is. Most of the time, if you ask people what their purpose in life is they will give you a vague list of goals or duties such as: being a better parent; being a good friend; being a good person. and of course all these things are important. But who doesn't want to be a better parent, a good friend and a good person? If you want to find a definite purpose for your life, one which fills you with enthusiasm and gives you understanding that you're living for something bigger than yourself, you need to move beyond the realm of generalities.
It's like the motivational speaker Zig Ziglar said in his book "Over the Top": "You will never succeed as a wandering generality, you must become a meaningful specific." So if you're really ready to get specific about your mission here on earth, here are a few simple strategies for finding your life purpose.
The First Step in Finding Your Life Purpose
The first thing that you need to do when it comes to finding your purpose is let go of all the noise and static which is keeping you from "hearing" the still small voice within your heart. Sure, there are many valuable things you can learn from outside sources and other people's input. But when it comes to you finding your life purpose, the person you need to have a consultation with is always available, and that person is you. The problem is that we are all bombarded with so many opinions, solicitations and ideas about how things should be that we've desensitized ourselves to the voice of our heart.
Your own personal and spiritual growth is your responsibility and no one else's, regardless of how many people will try to tell you what you should or should not do with your life. Once you have filtered these things out by cultivating "selective ignorance", you can start focusing on the skill which will help you in finding your purpose.
Start Listening to Yourself
The most important thing you can do to start building self-awareness and find out what YOUR specific purpose is here on earth is to start listening to yourself, and the best way to accomplish this is by keeping a daily journal of your thoughts. The great inventor Benjamin Franklin once said: "If you're not to be forgotten when you're dead and rotten, either do things worth writing about or write things worth reading about." This saying must have been believed by many other great achievers in history because most of them were prolific writers who kept track of their thoughts and reflections in personal letters and journals.
Writing is a focused exercise for the mind and it helps you to clarify the random thoughts which are going round in your mind driving you crazy for most of the day. Begin to write these thoughts down and write down the answers to questions such as "What's the one thing that I want people to remember me for?" or "What's the one thing that I want to accomplish before I die?". As you ask yourself these questions and develop the skill of understanding your own thought process and listening to the voice of your heart, the answers will become clearer and more specific.
And finally.
Finding Your Life Purpose By Going After It
The great writer Jack London once said: "You can't wait for inspiration to come to you, you must go after it with a club." The same is true when it comes to finding your purpose, you have to start feeding your mind with things and seeking out materials which will help you to further understand your own desires. If you want to do something with your life, you can bet that someone else has either done it themselves or at least something similar.
So devote yourself to becoming an avid reader and researcher of the things you're interested in, and in conjunction with your journaling you'll eventually succeed finding your life purpose.

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