Have you ever wandered away in your thoughts, thinking about the point of life and your role in this universe? The human existence is a complicated matter, and the answer to most existential questions have never been found. But, are we supposed to wait for others to reveal the purpose of life? Or should we try to define our own purpose and make sure we live in accordance with it?
The truth is, we’re all in charge of our time on this planet, and we need to make sure to use it the best way we can. Therefore, it’s important for every person to live a purposeful life. Not sure what a purpose-driven life is or how you can live one? Here’s some practical tips you can start applying to your daily routines and life philosophies to live more purposefully every single day.
1. Use Your Talents
Every one of us came into this world carrying a talent in our bones.
Some people are lucky enough to discover their talents and pursue them. Others, however, don’t get the chance to shine and showcase their gifts.
If you want to live a purpose-driven life, you definitely need to find out which talent has been given to you naturally. This innate gift of yours is a huge part of who you are, and you need to follow it.
Therefore, try to find that special talent in your life. Remember, talent isn’t only about music, dance or arts. You could be a talented communicator, craftsman or a spokesperson.
In case you have no idea what your talent is, just think about what you love to do. Usually, we are instinctively attracted to things we’re good at. Remember what you enjoyed doing as a child. Maybe you discovered your talent a long time ago but it got overlooked over the years.
Follow your natural talents and you’ll feel like you’ve accomplished a significant life goal.
2. Respect the Environment
It’s important to have the right mindset in life to be able to live a purpose driven life.
Even though the human race is the most dominant one, we’re not placed on this world to use others and make our lives better. On the contrary, we’re supposed to respect other species and the environment.
Therefore, you need to adopt a respectful lifestyle and make sure you take care of your surroundings:
- preserve your environment
- think about the planet
- take care of animals
- give love to nature
This will help you find a deeper connection to this world and realize you should preserve everything you’ve been given.
“Nothing can compare with the feeling when you go out in nature and just admire all the beauty that Mother Nature has given us. Once you learn how to respect the environment, it will completely change your outlook on life,” shares Sarah Goodman, an environmentalist and a writer at BestWritersCanada.
3. Find a Passion
Life is nothing without something that fires you up and makes you want to get up every morning.
We’re talking about finding something you feel passionate about.
But, how can you find a passion? Here are some suggestions:
- explore
- change your perspectives
- try different things
- listen to your heart
- focus on the things which make you happy
When you’re passionate about something, you’ll have the will and the energy to pursue it.
A passion is what drives us, gives us a purpose and helps us stay powered up and satisfied. It’s something we enjoy doing, care for deeply and fight for with our entire soul.
You’ll know that you have found your passion once you start enjoying what you do and willingly investing all of your energy in it.
4. Help Others
If you’re lucky enough to have your life together, and you’re standing on your own two feet, it’s very important for you to realize there are so many people who aren’t that lucky and who could use a hand.
Helping other people is a rewarding and noble thing to do. It will help you feel better about the world and you’ll understand everybody is interconnected.
Therefore, try finding the people in need and:
- donate to charity
- volunteer
- be there for your friends and family
- show selflessness whenever you can
- spread love and compassion
- be open
Being able to make someone else’s life better is one of the best feelings in the world. It’s one of the keys to living a purpose driven life.
5. Work On Self-Improvement
Some people feel that once they finish school and find a job, there’s nothing else for them to learn. This leads to them feeling lost, depressed, and lacking a life purpose.
The truth is, every day is an opportunity to learn something new!
You should never stop learning and growing both professionally and personally.
Just be open-minded and seize any opportunity to develop, improve and become a better version of yourself.
- practice new skills
- learn a new language
- adopt new habits
- explore the unknown
This kind of mindset will help you always feel great about each upcoming day and you’ll be able to enjoy it fully. You’ll feel like you’re completing your purpose and every day has meaning.
6. Set Goals
Every moment of your life should be revolving around a goal you’ve set for yourself.
Without a clear goal in mind, we tend to feel useless and disoriented. In order to avoid feeling this way, you should be determined about what we want to achieve, how and when.
This goal doesn’t have to a life-changing, extraordinary thing like finding a better job or saving the planet.
On the contrary, it should be something smaller but more meaningful for yourself.
You can focus on making a friend, learning about something you’re interested in, earning money for a travel adventure or adopting a dog.
Avoid setting strict deadlines when you want to achieve something. Life is unpredictable and you shouldn’t limit yourself with any dates. Let the life move at its own pace and accept that it is never too late to achieve your goals.
The important thing is, you always have something that moves you ahead. Your goal is your guide, and you’ll be striving straight ahead to achieve it.
7. Remove The Unpleasant
We all have some things in our lives which make us feel uncomfortable or even miserable.
Very often, we feel we’re simply bound to coexist with these unpleasant things or people and there’s nothing we can do about it.
The truth is, however, there’s always something we can do about it.
Try determining and defining the things which make you feel unhappy:
- a bad relationship
- instances of your lifestyle
- people surrounding you
- worries
Once you define them, be ready to face them. There’s always a way for you to remove the unpleasant things from your life, you just need to be brave enough and make the necessary cut.
By removing the unwanted, burdening things from your life, you’ll feel liberated and ready to conquer life again.
8. Challenge Yourself
While staying in the comfort zone may feel pleasant, it is actually holding you back.
You will never be able to live a purposeful life if you don’t push yourself to try new things.
Just think about it, if you don’t get outside your comfort zone how can you find your passion? How can you meet new people? Have new experiences? Help others?
Ask for a deserved promotion, move to a different city, take a road trip to Europe, or call that person from high-school that you’ve been missing for years. Do whatever you have always wanted to do but never had the courage to come through with it.
“Whenever I get stuck in a rut, I just say to myself ‘Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.’ This motto has helped me to get the job of my dreams and find my purpose in life,” says Pat Fredshaw, the head of the content department at EssaySupply.
You’ll be surprised how your life can gain meaning once you seize every opportunity that comes your way.
Even if it seems impossible for you to take a leap into the unknown, you need to push yourself if you want to make a change. Be bold and be fearless and you’ll see how it will all pay off.
9. Don’t Undermine Your Wishes
Don’t you dare to think that your hopes and dreams aren’t realistic or big enough. Whatever you wish to do in life is possible and valuable.
While some fear that their dream isn’t achievable, others feel like their idea isn’t important enough to pursue.
It doesn’t matter whether you want to be the president or to make greeting cards for the rest of your life. As long as it is important to you, it is worth it.
Pursue any dream you have, a big or a small one, it doesn’t make a difference.
Veronica Wright, CEO at ResumesCentre said the following in one of her interviews, “I used to feel that being an important figure in a large company is only a fantasy for me. But one day I decided that it is time to prove myself wrong. No one could stop me after that. That is when I realized that sometimes we can be our biggest enemy.”
The quicker you accept that every goal you have is worth your time and effort, the closer you will be to making your dream come true.
10. Develop Self-Compassion
Do you know how you’ll achieve success and fulfill your destiny? With persistence.
Think about how many people found their purpose at the very first try. Not many, for sure.
If you have found what you love and what can give you meaning, don’t give up on it at any cost.
Accomplished people, both professionally and emotionally, never beat themselves up over silly mistakes.
Here are some tips on how to practice self-compassion:
- be kind to yourself
- accept your mistakes
- don’t fear failure
- cherish both your strengths and weaknesses
Grasp the fact that bumps on the road are an inevitable part of everyone’s life journey.
11. Be Present
Learning how to be mindful will help you to appreciate life. Even if you get to the point where you feel like your life has a purpose, you’ll never be able to enjoy it if you don’t live in the now.
Being mindful means that you know to be present in each moment. It is normal that you drift off to the past or future, but the crucial part is how you spend the majority of your time.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t think of your future goals. It just refers to appreciating and taking action in the current moment, instead of living in your imagination.
Why would you live in a dream world when you can affect the present moment and make your dream world come true?
A helpful way to achieve mindfulness is through meditation. Meditation is highly praised by many successful people so there must be good about it.
12. Don’t Let Anyone Hold You Back
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to let other people tell you how to live your life.
How can you live a purpose-driven life if you allow someone else to hold you back?
It can be difficult to go against other people, especially if they are your loved ones. However, you should realize that each and every one of us is responsible for our own life.
When you get to the point where you feel that you are born to do what you desire, no one should stop you from achieving it.
No one will be able to tear you down by saying that you aren’t good enough if you don’t let them.
Take JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter as an example. All 12 major publishers in the United Kingdom rejected her. Did she give up? No. And now, there is not a person in the world who doesn’t know her name.
Why It Pays To Live A Purpose-Driven Life
The quality of your life is your number one priority but it’s only up to you to make it a purposeful journey. You need to work on self-awareness and life improvement to be able to enjoy life fully.
Find a purpose for every day ahead of you. Stay focused on the right things and avoid those which make you feel down. Be the best version of yourself and never stop growing.
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