Pearl Nash
Ever feel like you’re just coasting through life?
It’s probably because you haven’t figured out your purpose yet.
You see, it all starts with knowing what you want out of this one life you have—then everything else will follow.
In this article, I will give you 10 ways finding your life purpose will transform your life:
1) You’ll feel joyful and exuberant
We all feel good whenever we achieve something—anything—but unless that achievement is in line with your goals, you’ll never find lasting satisfaction in them. It’ll just be another achievement among many.
In contrast, you will feel alive when you’re doing something that does lead to your goals, even if you haven’t really achieved much of anything yet.
Unless you’re doing something about your life’s purpose, you’ll never feel the kind of alive-ness that will make you think “This is what life is for!”
2) You’ll easily know what to say YES to
It’s hard to say for sure what you truly do and do not want to do if you haven’t figured out your life’s purpose yet.
Should you accept that job that pays well even if it means moving to another state, or perhaps the one that pays less, but looks more fun? Or should you perhaps have your friends help you get set up working freelance?
If you aren’t sure what you want, you’ll always question your decisions. And more than that, you’ll always feel guilty for saying yes to them when your subconscious makes the decision for you.
If you continue living this way, you’ll end up later with regrets and you’ll repeatedly beat yourself up, saying “I should have said yes.”
3) You’ll easily know what to say NO to
It follows that when you know what you want, you’ll know what to prioritize and what you’ll not waste your time on.
If you haven’t figured out what you want, you’ll always have FOMO—fear of missing out.
As an example, someone who already knows what they want for dinner would easily say no to whatever the waiter is suggesting. They would not think “Oh no, what if that’s really what I want?”
They know what they’re saying “no” to could be good, but it’s not what they’re craving for. And trust me—you’ll have less regrets when you satisfy your craving rather than not choosing the many other possibilities being offered to you.
4) You’ll find your tribe
Life would feel joyless if you are not connected to people. And it would feel brimming to the full with joy when you’re with your kind of people.
You’d feel more alive (and less lonely) that when you’re with them, you think of how lucky you are. “Why haven’t I met these people before?! They’re what I’ve been looking for all along!”
If you’re a musician, you’d feel excited to be with other musicians. You’d geek out about music, make plans to form a band, and most of all—play.
Speaking of play. It’s such an underrated thing, but it’s what we’re put on this Earth to do. And if you want to play, it’s much better to have other people to play with.
5) Work will not feel like work
If you’re lucky to be doing a job that aligns to your life purpose, you wouldn’t feel like you’re working at all. Yes, you’ll still feel exhausted, and yes, you’ll still get frustrated every now and then.
But trust me—it will be the kind of exhaustion and frustration that you’ll still find rewarding…and therefore less draining.
And if you’re like me who has a day job but is doing my life purpose on the side, then you’ll find your day job more fulfilling by proxy. After all, it’s the one that’s feeding your life purpose.
So even if you get tired from working, you won’t grumble as much as the person who hasn’t found their life purpose.
6) Death will no longer scare you
Although I know so many people who discovered their life purpose but are still struggling with anxiety over death, I guarantee that it’s not the same kind of fear.
Those who haven’t figured out their purpose will go “I’m scared I’ll just die not doing what I’m here for.”
But those who already know their life purpose will worry about whether they’ve done enough, or they’re scared to go because they’re enjoying life so much they never want it to end.
What’s the difference, you might ask.
And the difference is that the anxieties of those who’ve figured out their life purpose can lead to more action. It can push them to do more so that they’d say “Alright, I’m good. Death can take me now and I can say it was all wonderful. I did what I have to do in this life.”
While the one without purpose will just have anxieties that are un-actionable and possibly unsolvable.
7) You’ll feel connected to the universe
I know it could sound delusional, but finding your purpose will transcend you.
It will take you to a higher level so that life will not just be what it is—but it has some kind of magic. And because of this, you’ll feel like you belong to something grander…something bigger than life.
You aren’t just floating around doing whatever you need to do to exist or to find some semblance of satisfaction. You actually have something to give your life meaning, and through that meaning you connect to the world around you.
8) Suffering will be more tolerable
Any kind of suffering when it’s in line to one’s sense of purpose will become lighter—even pleasurable.
A parent who considers being a parent as one of their major life purposes will still feel tired rocking their baby to sleep at 4am. They’re still suffering. But it’s the kind of suffering that they’d be glad to have.
They’d rather take this kind of suffering than that of the alternative—of having a good night’s rest for all their life, but to die childless.
9) You’ll be proud of yourself
You’ll be proud of yourself in many ways once you find your life purpose.
Now, we must bear in mind that “life purpose” is not just the things you fancy, it’s the things you’re willing to fight for. The things you’d be willing to fail at and still not regret a single second doing it.
First, you’ll be proud of yourself for just FINDING your life purpose. Many—and I mean MANY— people die not knowing theirs.
Second, you’ll be proud of yourself for pursuing them.
And third, which might not be the most important, you’ll be proud of yourself for actually achieving them.
10) You’ll finally be happy
Happiness itself is fleeting, but a sense of purpose, contentment, and joy will make it easier for you to experience more happy moments.
On the other hand, if you feel lost in life and you’re depressed because of this, even if you’re on top of the Eiffel eating a $500 meal, you’re probably not going to be enjoying yourself at all.
Sure, you’ll find pleasure in those things, but a part of you would still think “What am I doing here? What’s the point of it all?”
And that’s because living a meaningful life—that is one that’s rooted to your life purpose—is the way for you to live a happy life.
Last words
Defining one’s life’s purpose isn’t easy. And the funny thing is that you can have more than one… and it can change!
A decade ago, my life purpose was to make films. Now, I find that my life purpose is to become an essayist. But notice that they’re not that far from each other—I want to be a storyteller.
Surely, if I died a decade ago, I wouldn’t be able to have this current life purpose. But does it matter? No. What matters more is that you know that you have a life purpose RIGHT NOW, and that you’re pursuing it day by day.
That’s the thing that can keep us going.
While realizing the actual “output” of the purpose is a great thing, what matters more is the SENSE of purpose. And this, you can easily figure out if you try.
