As we grow and advance in life, we try to live our lives better and with more satisfaction and sense of fulfillment than we have been living. Whether it is striving to be more successful in career or in academics, working towards financial breakthrough, having a happy and healthy relationship with friends, families and loved ones, one way or the other we all have our plans either consciously or subconsciously as we continue to grow. Notwithstanding, having all these and more may seem unsatisfying or unfulfilling if PURPOSE is missing.
Discovering ones purpose in life is what gives meaning to life and existence. It is what gives definition to man’s daily strive for a better life. Having a sense of purpose comes with the feeling of satisfaction and optimism about life and in all it makes life more worthy of living and dreams, worth pursuing. Everyone has a purpose in life but not everyone is living according to their purpose. Finding your purpose in life is not a one off step, it is a conscious process that requires intentional planning, effort and renewal. Thus, purpose is not something that can be found in a jiffy. However, there are conscious things we can do and steps we can follow that when put together can help in discovering purpose in life.
1) Self Awareness and Introspection
There is a saying that the two most important days in a man’s life are the day he was born and the day he knows why. The day he knows why is the day he begins to discover his purpose in life. To know your purpose in life, you must first be self conscious of who you are. There are no two people that are exactly the same, just as the prints on our fingers are different. Everyone has a potential in them that makes them different from every other person. But in order to propel and utilise what makes us special, we must first discover and unveil what it is that makes us special. This is why in finding your purpose in life, you must look within yourself because that is where the treasure lies. Trying to fashion yourself in accordance to the purpose of someone else is nothing but a diversion from discovering your purpose.
2) Passion
Our purpose in life is usually designed after what we are drawn towards, what we love to do and what makes us happy or interests us. Passion is the zeal and enthusiasm that makes the journey to discovering purpose less bumpy. What produces passion and enthusiasm in you is an indication of your purpose. Engaging in an activity, trade or profession without the necessary passion is like traveling a thousand miles journey on the back of a snail, it would breed frustration and eventually kill your morale and cause you to be stagnant. Working without passion also wastes time and it is a journey in the wrong direction. When you have discovered your passion, it is obligatory that you explore it, maximise it and make the best out of it. Ignoring or limiting your passion diverts you from your purpose in life and nothing fulfilling or satisfying can be achieved without passion. To live a life of purpose, you must be dominated by your passion.
3) Invest in Yourself
A lot of people have the passion to pursue their purpose but have no knowledge or skills. You must understand that mediocrity and ignorance are parasites that can delay or put limitation on your fulfillment of purpose. In finding and fulfilling your purpose, you must continue to invest in yourself. Put your time and resources into things that will propel and add value to you. Acquire the skills and knowledge that will drive you towards discovering your purpose. In doing these, you have to make a lot of sacrifices, you have to sacrifice your time; to have the capacity to pursue your purpose, you must be ready to commit yourself to learning and mastery in the knowledge and skills that are necessary, this may mean sacrificing long hours either day or night and even hours of leisure. This may not be comfortable for the most part of it but you’re like a tea bag not worth much untill you’ve been through some hot water. The sacrifices you will have to make are the investments you are making into yourself to help you understand your purpose more and pursue them with sustainable strength, knowledge and mastery.
4) Take Thoughtful Action
When you have known what makes you passionate, you have to work on it and work accordingly towards your purpose. It is important that you don’t just know your purpose, you have to also live on purpose. You have to take actions daily, set short and long term goals and not live like a person living a passive and deadened life without goals. You must also leave your comfort zone and avoid distractions in whatever form. This will give you an opportunity to have a wider perspective of the world and your place in it because following the path of least resistance limits your potentials. There are times when difficulties and failures will set in to frustrate your journey to fulfilling purpose but you must remember that winners are losers who stood up after failing and gave it one more try and when the odds are against you and you feel like giving up, remember why you started.
5) Association
In discovering your purpose in life, it matters to be conscious of the people you keep close to yourself. Friends, colleagues, acquaintances, among others, will one way or the other try to influence your purpose. It is necessary to only keep close those that add value to you. Also surround yourself with positive people who are problem solvers. As you continue to work towards discovering your purpose, only those significant to unveiling your potentials will stick around.
6) Develop Your Mindset
You must develop a mindset that is fashioned towards fulfilling your purpose. First, you must understand that your purpose is not just about you. A lot of people in finding their purpose look at what is in it for them and what they have to gain from it. However, this is not always the case as purpose is fashioned to add value to others. In living on your purpose you have to continually look out for how impactful you are wherever you are fulfilling your purpose. Also, in discovering and unveiling your purpose, money should not be the goal but meeting needs and transforming lives. There is always regret for pursuing money and material benefits because there is no satisfaction in them. Your purpose is not your job because most times people choose their profession or career before discovering their purpose. In living a life of purpose, you are met with challenges to tackle and lives to impact, not job titles to fit into.
7) Mentorship
Wherever you are going in life, there are people that have gotten there. Learn from their lives and what they have gone through to be where they are. In learning from a mentor, you must know what you are after which is the principles you need to apply to advance towards your purpose and not material benefits. Your mentor has to be someone who inspires you, but it is also important not to lost yourself in the process. Stay unique and authentic and understand that you don’t have to emulate every area of the life of your mentor but only those that are in line with your purpose.
8) God Driven Purpose
In your journey to finding purpose, the most important thing to note is that you are not on Earth by yourself. You were put on Earth by God who already knows you even before you were born. It is important to let God lead you to fulfill the purpose he has designed for your life. Thus in discovering your purpose, everything you do must be to the glory of God. Where God directs us is where we ought to be because His plans and purpose for us are always better than our dreams. You must rely on His word for direction and guidance. Just as the Bible in Ephesians 2:10 says: For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them , God has already prepared a purpose for you and it is living in His purpose that brings the fulfillment in life. But most times, we are unsure of God’s purpose in our lives, that is why we must have a relationship with Him so that in times like that, we can go to him in prayers to reveal to us why He has created us.
Finally, you must be aware that the journey to discovering purpose is a process, it is not something that just happens at an instant, it takes patience, efforts and a strong conviction. It is also important to be aware that everywhere you find yourself, you have an assignment to fulfill there. Whenever you no longer feel the sense of purpose, it is necessary to pause, reflect and ask God for direction because He loves you and He will not allow His purpose in your life to be unfulfilled.
