Does it ever seem like other people have it all figured out—their goals, values, and purpose—while you’re just trying to figure out what to have for lunch? Don’t worry. A *lot* of us don’t have it all figured out either. According to one analysis in “The New York Times,” only around 25% of American adults say they have a clear sense of what makes their lives meaningful. Another 40% either claim neutrality on the subject or say they don’t.
Finding your purpose in life is more than a cliché. Learning how to live your life with purpose can lead to a sense of control, satisfaction, and general contentment. Feeling like what you do is worthwhile is arguably a significant key to a happy life. But what this means is different for each person, and it’s not always easy to figure out what drives you. Fortunately, there are some helpful strategies for finding and steering your rudder in a sometimes turbulent sea of life.
Why Do You Need a Sense of Purpose?
Research has found that individuals with high levels of eudemonic well-being—a sense of purpose and control control and a feeling like what you do is worthwhile—tend to live longer. Other researchers found that well-being might be protective for health maintenance. In that research, people with the strongest well-being were 30% less likely to die during the eight-and-a-half-year follow-up period.
There’s also research that links feeling as if you have a sense of purpose to positive health outcomes such as fewer strokes and heart attacks, better sleep, and a lower risk of dementia and disabilities.
So the good news is, you don’t have to choose between having wealth and living a meaningful life. You might find that the more purpose you feel, the more money you’ll earn.
With all of those benefits, finding purpose and meaning in your life is clearly central to fulfillment—but it’s likely to take time and patience.
The process requires plenty of self-reflection, listening to others, and finding where your passions lie. These seven strategies can help you reveal or find your purpose so you can begin living a more meaningful life.
Donate Time, Money, or Talent
If you can cultivate just one helpful habit in your search for purpose, it would be helping others.
Altruistic behaviors could include volunteering for a nonprofit organization, donating money to causes you care about, or simply helping out the people around you on a day-to-day basis.
Whether you decide to spend two Saturdays a month serving meals in a soup kitchen, or you volunteer to drive your elderly neighbor to the grocery store once a week, doing something kind for others can make you feel as though your life has meaning.
Listen to Feedback
Sometimes, it can be hard to recognize the things you feel passionate about. After all, you probably like to do many different things, and the things you love to do may have become so ingrained in your life that you don’t realize how important those things are.
Fortunately, other people might be able to give you some insight. There’s a good chance you’re already displaying your passion and purpose to those around you without even realizing it.
You might choose to reach out to people and ask what reminds them of you or what they think of when you enter their mind. Or you might take note when someone pays you a compliment or makes an observation about you. Write those observations down and look for patterns.
Whether people think of you as “a great entertainer” or they say “you have a passion for helping the elderly,” hearing others say what they notice about you might reinforce some of the passions you’ve already been engaging in.
Surround Yourself With Positive People
As the saying goes, you are the company you keep. What do you have in common with the people who you choose to be around?
Don’t think about co-workers or family members you feel obligated to see. Think about the people you choose to spend time with outside of work and outside of family functions.
On the other hand, if the people around you are negative individuals who drag you down, you might want to make some changes. It’s hard to feel passionate and purposeful when surrounded by people who aren’t interested in making positive contributions.
Start Conversations With New People
It’s easy to browse social media while you’re alone on the subway or sitting at a bar waiting for a friend. Resist that urge. Instead, take the time to talk to the people around you.
Ask them if they are working on any projects or what they like to do for fun. Talk to them about organizations with which they are involved or if they like to donate to any particular cause.
Even though striking up conversations with strangers may feel awkward initially, talking to people outside your immediate social circle can open your eyes to activities, causes, or career opportunities that you never even knew existed.
Explore Your Interests
Is there a topic that you are regularly talking about in a Facebook status update or in a Tweet? Are you regularly sharing articles about climate change or refugees?
Are there pictures on Instagram of you engaging in a particular activity over and over, such as gardening or performing?
Consider the conversations you enjoy holding with people the most when you’re meeting face-to-face. Do you like talking about history? Or do you prefer sharing the latest money-saving tips you discovered?
Consider Injustices That Bother You
Many people have their pet causes or passion projects that surround an injustice in the world. Is there anything that makes you so deeply unhappy to think about that it bothers you to the core?
It might be animal welfare, a particular civil rights issue or childhood obesity organizations. Perhaps the idea of senior citizens spending the holidays alone makes you weepy or you think that substance abusers need more rehabilitation opportunities—the organizations are out there, and they need your help.
Discover What You Love to Do
On the other end of the spectrum, simply thinking about what you truly love to do can help you find your purpose as well.
Do you absolutely love musical theater? Your skills might be best put to use in a way that brings live performances to children who can benefit from exposure to the arts.
Is analyzing data something that you actually find fun? Any number of groups could find that skill to be an invaluable asset.
How Do You Know You’ve Found Your Purpose?
Finding your purpose isn’t something you can do in a few days, weeks, or months. It can be a lifelong journey, and you must do it only one step at a time.
But how do you know when you’ve found your purpose? Like the notion of purpose itself, the answer to that is subjective—and there are as many signs that someone’s found their purpose as there are people.
- Perhaps you feel fully connected to the universe and that you know your place in it.
- Maybe you’ve found your meaning in religion.
- Or you sense a strong connection with others.
- Maybe it’s the feeling that arises from activities that benefit others, such as volunteering.
You also might find that your purpose changes over time. Perhaps you liked working with animals in your youth, but now you want to join forces with a cause that fights human trafficking. Or, maybe you want to do both, being among the lucky ones who find more than one purpose to drive their lives.