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5 Questions to Ask Yourself
I am quite sure you have heard people say, “I am passionate about…”, and they go forward and talk about what they are passionate about, and potentially what they are doing with that passion. But, are they really walking in their LIFE PURPOSE? You see, purpose and passion are not the same thing. You can be passionate about A LOT of things, but that doesn’t mean that is your PURPOSE. So, what do I mean by that?
Let’s first start with a definition of both words.
Passion is defined as: “a strong feeling of enthusiasm, or excitement, for something, or about doing something.”
Life Purpose is defined as: “the central motivating aims of your life – the reason you get up in the morning.”
As you can see from above, life purpose is deeper than passion. This became real to me when I was studying to become a Master Life Coach. One of the statements that resonated with me during that process, that I have not forgotten, is that your passion is a CHILD of your PURPOSE.
So, what does that mean? Let’s say you are really passionate about cooking. You love to make a variety of foods, and maybe even dabble in baking. Though you may like cooking, and receive feedback from friends and family you are great at it, your life purpose may not be a chef at a restaurant. Furthermore, if you became a chef at an existing restaurant, or opened up your own restaurant, you may not feel fulfilled because you are not truly operating in your PURPOSE.
As you reflect on that scenario and think about your own life, your next question may be, how do you determine, or find, your life purpose? This is a question only YOU can answer. There are so many of us traveling this journey of life doing what others have told us we should do. We were told because we were good at something, or excelled at something, that is what we should do. But, should you? Are you really living the life you desire, or are you living your life for someone else? In order to define/find your Life Purpose, you need to do some introspection and soul searching. You need to go deep within yourself to determine what you want and why. Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself, and the reasoning why you ask these questions, to start this soul searching.
5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Start Your Life Purpose Discovery Journey
Question | Reasoning |
What are some things you enjoyed doing as a child that you still do today, or miss doing? | Many times, our purpose is cultivated from our childhood. You may not have understood it as a child, but as you get older it begins to make sense why you enjoyed or were drawn to certain things. There are certain activities or environments that drew in your attention and you found truly enjoyable. Those were things you gravitated to, and really enjoyed, and no matter how much you may try to avoid them it just keeps calling you, and tugging at your heart strings. It is a feeling you just can’t ignore. This is something you should tap in to because you may just find that childhood joy you had, that you have let go of for whatever reason, is something you really need to get back into your life. In addition, if it is in your life but you keep letting other things take priority over this enjoyment you may need to evaluate why. |
What lights a fire in you? Meaning, when this certain thing comes up you get excited, you smile. | Have you ever had that experience where you were so excited about an event, or activity, that you can’t sleep at night? Or you are able to sleep, but when you get up in the morning you jump up with excitement, and ready to experience it? Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could feel the same way about life in general? Not every day is going to be roses or excited, but just imagine for a moment if the majority of your days were fulfilling and exciting for you? What are those topics, scenarios, things that make you excited. Think about what you truly enjoy doing that lights a FIRE within. What thoroughly excites you? What is stopping you from having that excitement? |
What would you do regardless if you got paid for it or not? | When you understand your Life Purpose, what drives you to execute it is not always monetary. When you know you are orchestrating in your purpose there is some deeper within than just money. You execute in your purpose because you KNOW it’s your purpose and what you were placed on this earth to do. For example, let’s say you know your life purpose is to provide services to help young people prepare for their first job out of college. You happen to be part of a career expo where you are a vendor. A young man visits your table, and you have an amazing conversation that leaves a deep impression on you. During the conversation the young man shares with you that from a financial perspective he cannot afford your services, but loves what you have to off. You want to help this young man, and you decide to offer your services for free. Actually, you decide that anyone who visits your table you will give some sort of free service away. Why? Well, there a couple of reasons:
It wasn’t about the money in that moment, it was about executing your PURPOSE to help someone else FULFILL theirs, and there is no price you can put on that. Though you may not have received any money at this particular event, the seeds sown was far more important to you than anything else and you felt fulfilled. So, what would you do without getting paid? Just something to think about. |
What makes you feel fulfilled? | From the previous example you can see how fulfillment can make a difference in your life. It’s not just about going through the motions, but more knowing that you have impacted this world with you talents and skills for the better. Feeling fulfilled is a feeling you cannot put a price on because you are operating in your optimal state. What activities, when you engage in them make you feel fulfilled? What are those things that gives you life, that when you go to bed at night, or wake up in the morning, you know you are making an impact and difference. You know you are adding VALUE. |
What makes you feel empty inside? Like, something is missing? | What are some things you miss that you really enjoy, that gives you that feeling of emptiness or something is missing. Think about where that emptiness is coming from, and why it exists. Think about what could remove that emptiness. When I say emptiness, I am specifically referencing not feeling that you are doing your life’s work. What are you allowing to distract you from your life purpose? What are you allowing to take priority that shouldn’t? What limiting beliefs could be popping up for you that is adding fear, anxiety, or other emotions that is stopping you from fulfilling your Life Purpose. |
As you can see this is some serious self-reflection and introspection. These are just 5 questions to get you started on this journey and there are definitely more questions that may come up for you as you do this reflection and introspection.
Now I must say this! For those of you who feel you need to tell others how to live their lives, please stop (🛑). You can definitely offer advice and guidance, but let others live out their Life Purpose. Stop trying to live vicariously through others, or make them feel guilty because they are not following the path YOU feel they should follow. Each of us have unique abilities and only we can execute those unique abilities. So let others be true to themselves and let us experience them.
In conclusion, I love this quote I saw once online. It said, “It doesn’t matter how many people do what you do. No one can do it like you.” Ah! Remember you are unique and your life has purpose. So, take time to figure out what your purpose is and start executing in it.
YOU GOT WORK TO DO IN ’22!!! Let us experience YOU!!!
Until next time,
The BA Martial Artist is signing off 🥋