what brings you joy?

• what activities make you happy?
• what do you love to do?
• what can you find yourself doing for hours on end and not be tired?
• what were your favorite things to do or play as a child?
• what makes you come alive?
• what things have made you feel excited to get out of bed?
• these are your passions. they are your compass. your passions are driven by an innate love and joy. you’re drawn to them for a reason: they lead you to where you are meant to go.

what makes you unique?

• what are you naturally good at? what comes easy to you?
• what do your close family and friends tell you that you are good at?
• what is the thing that people admire most about you?
• what problems in others are you good at solving? (what do people come to you for counsel about?)
• what do you do so well that people cannot determine whether you are working or playing?
• what were you doing when you were 100 percent at the top of your game?
• realizing your natural talents and strengths is essential to finding your purpose. these are your tools. you are given this set of talents and strengths for a reason: to use them to help others or to contribute to the world in your own unique way.

what does your perfect life look like?

• what is your dream story?
• what would you do with your life if you knew that you could not fail?
• what would you do if money didn’t matter?
• if every job/career/calling in the world paid $15/hour, what would you choose to do as a profession?
• what does your ideal life look like in 10 years? who is in your life? where are you living?
• how do you spend your time? what does your ideal day/week/year look like?
• don’t limit yourself here. dare to write your biggest, boldest, and truest answers because your perfect life is attainable—the first step is to acknowledge what you truly want. this is your vision. your vision shows you who you want to be.

how can you give back to the world?

• who do you want to help?
• how do you want to help them? (teaching, volunteering, charity, etc)
• how can your unique strengths benefit others?
• what were you doing when you made an impact on someone else’s life? how did it make you feel?
• what causes do you care about? what grieves or frustrates you the most about this life and society?
• if you had ten minutes to address the world, what would you talk about and why?
• true happiness and fulfillment comes from giving back and helping others. by definition, your purpose includes how you will make a meaningful contribution to the world and those around you. this is your impact.

look for patterns

• now it’s time to go over your answers and look for patterns. what is the common thread amongst all your gifts, talents, and abilities? think about what connects each aspect of you between your passions, your talents, your dreams, and your impact.

write your purpose statement

• finally, sit in quiet self reflection. write “what is my true purpose in life?” on top of a page, and let the answer come to you. keep writing versions of your purpose statement until it feels right to you. the words don’t need to be poetic or pretty, what is important is how inspired they make you feel. you should feel an emotional tug when you come up with your purpose statement, as if you care about each word deeply. later, feel free to revisit and redefine your purpose from time to time as needed.
• tying this exercise together, i like to believe that in general: your purpose is to follow your compass and utilize your tools to realize your vision and make your impact. of course, it’s nicer to come up with a concise and unique purpose statement that embodies all of these things, so keep writing until you’ve found it!