Ever tried to sit idly somewhere having nothing to do? What will happen next?
You will find something to do no matter how mundane or how meaningful it is. Maybe you will start talking to the person sitting next to you. Or you may fidget your way out of this boredom.
Or, if you are anything like me, you will start reading a book. The point is it is hard for us to sit idle, even for a few moments at a stretch.
So, keeping this in mind, how can we pass our lives without something to do throughout it? This need of ours to do something urges us to seek an answer to a difficult question – what is our life purpose?
Before trying to find it, let’s take a deeper look at what it is.
What does life purpose mean?
Our system is designed such that you need to be valuable in some form to earn your life. If you don’t choose the form in which you want to be valuable, society will decide it for you. It doesn’t matter to society if you love or hate it.
For example – many people hate the jobs they do and yet keep on doing them for their whole life, making their purpose to feed and sustain their families.
Most probably, you already have a life purpose. The only catch is whether you deliberately choose it for yourself – something you love, something more meaningful to you – or have you let the system decide.
However, the good news is that you have the power to choose what you want your life to be about at any point in your life.
And that’s life purpose!
In other words, it is the carrot you see on the horizon that you want to chase for your whole life. It is something that going after will truly make you feel satisfied while also sustaining your life.
Characteristics of a true life purpose
I used to get quite revved up when talking about cricket and movies. But that love affair didn’t quite last for long because I took them as interests, not as a life purpose.
It won’t be hard for you as well to figure out the “interests” of your life. However, our goal here is to find life purpose. Thus, here are some of the characteristics that distinguish it from other things.
1. It is never-ending
The life purpose has only one end – the end from which you start pursuing it. It then stretches forever.
Let’s say that you want to establish a billion-dollar company. You work your ass off and sacrifice as much as you can to see your dream come true.
But then what? Are you done? Of course not.
On the other side, if you find solace in giving shelter to street dogs, you can always find one around the corner.
2. You love it
It is hard to do something you don’t love. And conversely, doing something you love makes it so much more frictionless.
And talking about an endeavor you want to pursue your whole life so that you can be satisfied with it, you got to love it as fuck.
However, I acknowledge the fact that the love for a pursuit can also develop while in the pursuit. Thus, love may be a requirement but is not a prerequisite.
3. You can get good at it
Being good at something is important. It helps you to be known for it. For example, writing. I love writing and I know, with time, I will only get better to create something valuable with it (fingers crossed).
But being good at your pursuit also serves another purpose. Which is …
4. You can make a living with it
Do you know that your stomach and the stomachs of your dependents don’t give a fuck about all this? They just need to be fed regularly no matter the turmoil happening around your life.
Thus, you need to think monetarily as well. But the good news is, even though money needs to come from somewhere, it need not necessarily come from your life pursuit.
Giving shelter to street dogs is a noble cause but you cannot make money with it. So if you want to go that way, you need to fill this gap with a job that empowers you to keep your cause going.
But if the source of your money and your pursuit coincides, then here is one more thing to keep in mind.
5. The world needs it
In the business world, it is usually said that filling a demand is easier than creating a demand. So the question is: –
Can you fill any demand with what you love so that you can earn money with it?
Continuing my own example, I know good writing is valuable and I can earn money with it in many ways. In fact, as of now, along with writing for this website, I am also employed as a content writer.
Thus, if the world needs what you love, voila! You have found something that just won’t feed your soul but also your stomach.
So we are one step closer as we know the ins and outs of a life purpose. Now, we will embark on finding it.
How to find your life purpose?
Ironically, dedicating yourself to one true purpose requires you to try many things to see which one sticks.
Writing works for me. But it wasn’t obvious to me. In fact, I found writing more penetrating to me than anything else when I was in the final year of my college – at a point I was preparing to land a job as a programmer.
Even before that, I looked up to see myself as a cricketer in my school days. That’s ok. You never know until you know.
This gives you two choices: –
If you opt for examining, here is a set of questions you should ask yourself.
And remember the characteristics of a life purpose or else you may find yourself jumping between interests or fads.
Read more: How To Find Your Life Purpose To Live A Meaningful Life?
Conclusion
There is one more thing about life purpose and it has everything to do with you. It is if you show up for it or not – EVERY SINGLE DAY. Nothing matters whatever I have said till now if you don’t tick this one.
So keep moving no matter how small your stride is because, in the beginning, the “air” will be against you. But if you stay in the way, the “air” will turn to push you to the carrot that lies for you on the horizon.
