This question also simply means "What is your Mission?".
According to Jeremy Adam Smith, Many seem to believe that purpose arises from your special gifts and sets you apart from other people—but that’s only part of the truth. It also grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll almost certainly find others traveling along with you, hoping to reach the same destination—a community.
It is very important to know both your Vision and Mission in life. As written in the last post (What's your vision?), knowing who you are and writing down your goals are the first steps to defining what your vision is in life. Vision and Mission work together in Self-Discovery.
As observed among friends and family, we just go along daily routine; Go to work, do some exercise, make a living…without understanding the need for all these things they do. It simply means not having an idea of your existence in life. Wait a minute! I am not saying these things are wrong but we should have specific goals to achieve these things.
Let’s use a 9-5 worker as a case study, why do you work to make a living? Did you just finish school and you feel the next thing to do is get a job to earn money because that is what others are doing? As a person, you need to identify your potentials that would help you understand the exact things to focus on in your life. Don’t just follow the crowd. You might also find yourself wanting to please other people and not being confident of your needs and aspirations. You are only helping others to fulfill their dreams instead of focusing on yours. It is not bad to learn from people while you build your skills to fulfilling your own dream. You can be an employee for so many years before starting your own business while some are gifted with the skills to start as early as they can. It is not too late to find your true purpose in life.
Ways to finding Purpose (written by Jeremy Adams Smith)
Read: Reading connects us to people we’ll never know, across time and space— an experience that research says is linked to a sense of meaning and purpose.
Turn hurts into healing for others: finding purpose is not just an intellectual pursuit; it’s something we need to feel. That’s why it can grow out of suffering, both our own and others’.
Cultivate awe, gratitude, and altruism: Certain emotions and behaviors that promote health and well-being can also foster a sense of purpose—specifically, awe, gratitude, and altruism.
Listen to what other people appreciate about you: Giving thanks can help you find your purpose. But you can also find purpose in what people thank you for.
Find and build community: we can often find our sense of purpose in the people around us.
Tell your story: Purpose often arises from curiosity about your own life. What obstacles have you encountered? What strengths helped you to overcome them? How did other people help you? How did your strengths help make life better for others?
Trust me, you can’t figure it out alone. Try asking God too. He is the one who created you and has given you a purpose to live on earth. It is better to find out than keep wasting away till God calls you back to him. Then you won’t be able to make an account of how what you could have achieved or the impacts you ought to have made while on earth.
Watch out for the next post as the series (Journey of Self-Discovery) continues.
Thank you for reading.