Most of us don’t even know what the heck we are going to do with their lives. You get out of school and slap bang into the real world. Then we sort of spill or fall into jobs that happen to us… Before we know it we’re making money and paying bills.
Between 18 and 23, I changed aspirations and career goals perhaps a trillion times. After I started my business, I wasn’t quite sure which direction to take it and what I wanted it to become.
So here’s what I did, I took it in bite sizes, TIME. I’m not guaranteed success or fame or to even discover what my life purpose is; but I am guaranteed that in order to find that out, I need to put time and energy into the things that will get me there.
So instead of us asking “What is my life purpose?” lets switch it up to: “How should I be investing my time in order to fulfil or find my life purpose” or “What are the important things around me that mould me and fulfil me?”
One thing you need to realise is that you cannot think your way to greatness or purpose, it’s daily time and growth.
- Are you willing to put up with your worst kind of hell to get what you want?
“Keep your head up. God gives his hardest battles to the strongest soldier”
You cannot be an amazing entrepreneur but not be able to handle failure; then you’re not going to make it far. You cannot be the greatest accountant or lawyer but don’t want to put in the time and work 16-20 hour days.
We need to imagine our worst kind of hell and just deal with it head on… one bite size at a time. One thing is for sure about life, everything that you’ve ever wanted sucks at first. Once you’ve worked through the sour and uncomfortable parts of your sour jelly bean, it gets sweeter and sweeter, then you have to begin all over again with another one. Addictive and thrilling!
Once you step out of comfort and leap into discomfort, discomfort becomes a norm and you’re constantly in pursuit of the discomfort that draws the best out of you.
- Don’t lose you. Don’t lose your youthful spontaneity.
Most of us lose that naturalness of being young, imaginative and free yet managed. Growing up, adolescence and professional pressures of young adulthood squeezes the passion out of us. We’re taught that the only reason to do something is if we’re somehow rewarded for it. I used to love reading and writing as a primary and early high school student. I don’t remember when but I just simply stopped. I remember my mother used to come switch off my light at night because I would have fallen asleep whilst reading.
In my 20s I’ve rediscovered what it’s like to read, write and imagine… And I’ve transferred my thoughts and what I gain from reading into my writing. This is working with me towards my purpose.
Take me for example; I have numerous job titles. I’m a writer, speaker, mentor, web designer, creative strategist and each and every one of these titles bring me joy, and they are my passions. When you are in touch with your passions and spend time on each one of them, you craft your purpose. You start structuring your life around growth in each of these areas and seeing opportunities for yourself in the things around you.
- Do the things that make you forget to eat, check your phone or even go to the loo
For years as a pre teen and teen, it was reading and writing stories. Stories I would make up in my head. I would forget to eat, be so pressed to go to the loo that I’d almost pee on myself en-route. That is passion.
Perhaps yours was those video games or PlayStation just like my brothers and my cousins. Sitting in front of the TV for hours, playing instead of doing your homework, studying, showering or even not realising that the sun has gone down and its about to rise again.
Who knows, maybe the passion wasn’t in the games themselves but in the feeling of moving passed numerous levels and winning. Improving yourself for yourself.
Look for what gets you absorbed into a world where you are okay with going without all the rest.
- Lose your fear of vulnerability
We all have something we fantasise about endlessly and want so bad, but we’re so afraid of embarrassing ourselves. In order to be great at something, we have to fail first. Kids don’t stop walking because mommy gasped and daddy laughed. They try and try and try.
A theory goes: if you avoid something because you feel you will be embarrassed whilst doing it or trying to, you will never do the things you deem important.
What are you putting off right now that you are afraid will embarrass you?
If your reasons for not pursuing those things are based on the thoughts of people, you are basically screwing yourself over.
“Living a life avoiding embarrassment is akin to living a life with your head in the sand.”
The greatest of things are in their very nature to be unique and unconventional. People will laugh, scoff and have remarks. Go against it. Let it fuels you. Therefore, to achieve them, we must go against the herd mentality. And to do that is super scary.
Embrace embarrassment. Feeling foolish is part of the path to achieving something important, something meaningful. The more a major life decision scares you; chances are the more you need to be doing it.
- Try Save The World (Or atleast a part of it)
In case you havent noticed. The world’s kind of screwed and we’re all bout to die.
Find a problem you care about and start solving it. It’s pretty obvious, you’re not going to fix the world’s problems by yourself. But you can contribute and make a difference. And that feeling of making a difference is ultimately what’s most important for your own happiness and fulfillment.
Live passionately and let it reflect in your daily actions that have a positive impact on the people around you.
- If you were forced out your house everyday… What would you do?
Honestly answer this. Take away FB, twitter, in fact all social media. What would you do that would occupy your time?
This is true contact with finding your purpose. Passion does not happen to you, you find it and source it… you go looking for it. You get into head butts with it. It bounces you to the ground but you get up and do it all over again.
But ultimately, what would you do with that time?
- If you had a year to live. What would you want to be known for?
What would your legacy have been? What are the stories people are going to tell when you’re gone? What is your obituary going to say? Is there anything to say at all? If not, what would you like it to say? How can you start working towards that today?
If you don’t know what your values are, you are taking on someone else’s dream and purpose for your life and living for them, this usually translates to terrible relationships and misery all around.
Write your own obituary then begin to craft those relationships all around you.
In one sentence, imagine a life without yourself. What would that be like?