Finding Your Life Purpose 1 (Self- Discovery)

Gbubemi Atimomo

Thu, 19 Sep 2024

Why am I here? Is there a specific thing I’m supposed to achieve whilst on this journey called life? If there is, how do I know what it is? How am I supposed to achieve it? What are the pointers that will guide me along?

This question about purpose always seems to find its way into every discussion about ambition, life plans, the future, even the present. What’s the big deal about purpose? Why is it so important? How important is discovering one’s purpose to living a fulfilled life? Can we go through life successfully without knowing what our purpose is? Is it possible that we can say we are successful if we don’t achieve some worthwhile goal?

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

George Bernard Shaw

Everybody has a purpose in life. We all have a reason for being alive, a part to play in this world, a contribution to make for the greater good. The more we think about it, the more it becomes apparent that our purpose in life is more important than we ourselves. In life, we will always get to the point where we begin to wonder if there’s more to life than we have or currently experience. It is at times like this that we begin to feel the urges of doing something impacting, something more than ourselves. At this time, we need to realize that its purpose calling out to us. We can all do more than we have. Our achievements are only limited by ourselves, and if only we can make ourselves available to others, we can fulfill our purpose.

So how then do we identify our purpose? How do we know what exactly it is that we’ve been called to do? Consider this scenario…

You are at your own funeral, many many years from now. A group of people are standing afar from the mourners who are by the graveside. You know some of them and you can hear them talking about you. What do you think they would be saying? What achievements would they be celebrating?

This short exercise helps us put purpose in proper perspective. Stephen Covey talks about seeing the end from the beginning as one of the habits of highly effective people. It is a great way of reviewing our lives as we go along.

In finding our life purpose, we need to approach it in a personal way, as we all have different purposes to fulfill. The main thing one must do is to look inwards; look within yourself. A lot of soul searching must go into your self discovery process to build a solid foundation for your future.

1. Connect with God. Ask for inspiration and direction. Present your queries and expect to receive answers. It is only the manufacturer of a product that can determine to what purpose he has made the product.

2. What do you see for your future? In what areas can you see yourself making a difference in life? At the end of your days, what do you want to have achieved? What is your personal vision for yourself?

3. How do you foresee you will achieve your life vision? What are the things you will need to do to ensure your vision becomes reality? What is your mission?

4. What are the things that you consider most important to you? What do you hold dear? You need to identify your values; guiding principles for ensuring you make a success of your life.

5. You need to conduct a SWOT analysis for your life. Assess your strengths (the areas where you are advantaged in terms of skills, experience, contacts, etc) and weaknesses (the areas where you are deficient in terms of skills, etc). You also need to consider the opportunities available to you and the likely threats to your achieving success in life.

6. You may also wish to speak to people who know you quite well and ask for their opinion (strictly as a guide for you in identifying your purpose). They can help you open your mind to other areas you may have become blind to.

What self- discovery does is help you see beyond what you see now, and reach into a life of possibilities; your life of possibilities. To see what you have been designed to do while on earth. At the end of this exercise, you will certainly have a greater sense of personal discovery and please note that this is not a “just once in time” activity. You constantly need to refine your self.   

Many people have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

Helen Keller