- Connection to others (isolation can cause a feeling that you don’t have purpose)
- Using your special gifts to help others can cause a sense of purpose
- 6 ways to overcome isolation and find your purpose
- Read
Books can help people communicate from across time and space, it can also be linked to a more solid sense of meaning and purpose. Many studies have found that reading can improve purpose, for example a study done by Leslie Francis showed that teenagers that had read the bible had a more profound sense of purpose. Another study by Raymond A. Mar found a link between secular reads and a feeling of meaning in adolescents. They said that if teens see purpose in others then they are more likely to see it in themselves. This is how fiction novels can also improve purpose, they see the characters in the book making their decisions and then the teens can get insight they would have normally learned later in life in just the beginning.
- Helping/Healing Others
Everyone has their problems but it’s the way we choose to handle it is what sets us apart. Helping others takes two willing people and no less, but once that one person decides to reach for help, that is when people can find that sense of meaning. When you help someone you can get the feeling of accomplishment and purpose. That feeling is often what encourages firefighters, policemen, etc., to do what they do. Some people find their calling in suffering and others are broken by it and that is why there are many ways to find your pursuit of choice.
- Emotions
Some emotions can help you live a happier and healthier life and they can also help develop a sense of direction. Three emotions do it the best, unselfishness, gratitude, and awe. Awe can make you feel like there is something there that is larger than yourself. That is why religion can be a huge factor of finding purpose and meaning in life. But just knowing that there is something bigger than you is there might not be enough. You need that determination and motivation to make a change. Gratitude and altruism can help with that. If you are grateful for the things and people that make your life better then you are far more likely to try to pay it forward to someone else. Now altruism, altruism is the practice of unselfishness and it is connected to gratitude. Gratitude is when you are grateful for what you have and it can spark acts of altruism. These acts could be as simple as volunteering or donating money all the way to starting a non-profit.
- Listening To What Others Appreciate About You
Being thanked for all that you have done can be a very powerful thing and it doesn’t take any money and barely takes any time. It does need to be more than just a “Thanks” though. Artists, musicians and writers feed off of others’ recognition and it helps them do what they do best with confidence. Confidence is a huge difference maker and allows people to unleash their full potential on the things they’re most passionate about, which is often their purpose.
- Find and Build Community
This topic is finding purpose in the people and things around us. An example of this would be an environmental activist. Environmental activists believe in leaving the Earth in a better place than they found it. But it is also finding belonging in the people around you. When you are isolated you probably don’t feel like you have a purpose but when you are united with others with the same motivation as you there is that sense of purpose. Look at what the people beside you are doing to make the world a better place and help them or follow their lead. If they aren’t making a positive impact then find what they’re doing wrong and fix it.
- Tell Your Story
Studies show that people who see meaning and purpose in their own life are able to tell a story that shows advancement and improvement. It also tells how they have overcome their challenges and how they are all the better for it. This can help you discover our strengths and from there you can apply those strengths to better the world. It is a great way to reflect not on the bad times but how you achieved your goal through hardships.
Analysis: Finding a job or commitment that you love and finding purpose is a very important thing. If you do, life will be fulfilling and quite joyous. I think that this quote says it best, “Find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” – Confucius. The gist is that when you do find that job or commitment that you are passionate about, jump on it. The thing(s) that will make you excited and passionate won’t feel like work or a chore, it will fill you with purpose and excitement. It doesn’t even need to be a job, it could be finding purpose in any of the six ways above or it could be something totally different. It is different for everyone but the one thing everyone needs to do is to find that thing that makes you excited and purposeful no matter how you get to it.
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_find_your_purpose_in_life
How can we find purpose in life, well it isn’t an easy thing. There are many problems in the world that are bigger than any one person and it can be daunting at times but purpose can often come out of others misfortune.
Step 1: Find Out What Drives You
The first step is to find out what motivates you. What is it that you feel so deeply about that you need to do something about? Sometimes what drives people the most is finding what misery in the world that you can’t stand. Great misfortune can foster great purpose and motivation.
Step 2: What Energizes You
The next step is to find out what energizes you, what makes you excited. This is important because a job can do two things to you, it can either energize you and make you excited or it can deplete you. When you have a job that depletes you you aren’t motivated to go to work the next day with a great attitude even if it is for a good cause. So it isn’t as simple as saying I want to help people I’ll work at non profit with a good cause. It needs to fill you with purpose and excitement.
Step 3: What Are You Willing To Sacrifice
We actually go through this step almost on a daily basis. When you “think” that you want to do something but then decide to why bother or don’t follow through with it it tells you that it wasn’t important enough to sacrifice your time. So when you do come to those big decisions of what you are going to do about something you need to make sure that you know that it is indeed something you are willing to sacrifice for. The sacrifice isn’t just your time, important events can also be impacted and they will need to be sacrificed so make sure that the thing you are sacrificing for is worthwhile.
Step 4: Find Out Who You Want To Help
To find a greater purpose you will need to find a certain person or group that you feel motivated to help. This group can be very small or large , but the important thing is that those are the people you want to help. If I had to pick a group that I wanted to help it would have to be the hardest working people that have had misfortune. I have this cleaner and her name is Joy and she is the most determined person I have ever met. She is originally from Jamaica and she has had problems getting her family into Canada with her, she spent years getting a Canadian citizenship, she has gone to court with her employer because of unfair pay and now she’s studying for her learners licence. She is absolutely relently in the pursuit of her goal. I would want to help people like Joy because they work so relentlessly and have been through so many hardships and Joy is still one of the happiest people I know. It’s inspiring.
Step 5: Find Out How You Want To Help
The final step in finding purpose is to find out how you would like to help. This step involves finding how to take your passion and skills and find how to apply them to your problem you want to make a difference to. You will feel adversity, but as long as you know you are motivated about making a difference in the world then you will always find a way to get it done.
Analysis: following these steps you will find what motivates you and what are you going to do about it. But the most important part is that you can stay motivated and you are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to reach that level of success. It’s great that you want to make a difference in the world but are you willing to give it your all and more, that is the important part in my perspective. Regardless, all steps are crucial in the quest of finding purpose in life and hopefully it helps others find what they are passionate about.