How can purpose be discovered

Explore the difference between a happy life and a meaningful one. Learn how helping others can help you finding meaning in life. Discover the health benefits of having a purpose. Jeremy Adam Smith explores how the science of purpose could help explain white supremacy.

Certain emotions and behaviors that promote health and well-being can also foster a sense of purpose—specifically, awe , gratitude , and altruism. Here we arrive at altruism. In one study , for example, Daryl Van Tongeren and colleagues found that people who engage in more altruistic behaviors, like volunteering or donating money, tend to have a greater sense of purpose in their lives. Interestingly, gratitude and altruism seem to work together to generate meaning and purpose.

In a second experiment, the researchers randomly assigned some participants to write letters of gratitude—and those people later reported a stronger sense of purpose. More recent work by Christina Karns and colleagues found that altruism and gratitude are neurologically linked, activating the same reward circuits in the brain. Giving thanks can help you find your purpose. But you can also find purpose in what people thank you for.

Like Kezia Willingham, Shawn Taylor had a tough childhood—and he was also drawn to working with kids who had severe behavioral problems. Unlike her, however, he often felt like the work was a dead-end.

No specifics, but youth work was my purpose. The artists, writers, and musicians I interviewed often described how appreciation from others fueled their work. Dani Burlison never lacked a sense of purpose, and she toiled for years as a writer and social-justice activist in Santa Rosa, California. Although there is no research that directly explores how being thanked might fuel a sense of purpose, we do know that gratitude strengthens relationships —and those are often the source of our purpose, as many of these stories suggest.

Many people told me about finding purpose in family. Of course, our kids may not embrace our purpose. Amber Cantorna was raised by purpose-driven parents who were right-wing Christians. To be a blessing to other people. The trouble is that this underlying purpose involved making other people more like them.

Often, the nobility of our purpose reflects the company we keep. A new sense of purpose came with the new community and identity she helped to build, of gay and lesbian Christians.

Then, lock in your destination through goal setting , affirmations, and visualization, and start taking the actions that will move you in the right direction. A table by the window, front row seats at a conference, first-class tickets, a room with an ocean view, or a loving relationship. In other words, once you clarify and then stay focused on your vision you can do this with a vision board or meditation , the exact steps will keep appearing along the way in the form of internal guidance, creating ideas, and new opportunities.

You were born with an inner guidance that tells you when you are on or off course by the amount of joy you are experiencing. The things that bring you the greatest joy are in alignment with your purpose and will get you to where you want to go. When you present your goals to the universe with all its powerful technology, you will be surprised and dazzled by what it delivers.

This is where the magic and miracles truly happen. Take some time to think honestly and openly about where you currently are in your life and what you want to do with your life.

If your life were perfect right now, what would it look like? What kind of job would you have and where would you be living?

To do this, you compare statements 1 and 2 to identify which is most important. Repeat the process with the remaining 14 statements to identify your second choice.

Next, create markers for each of your top five passions, so that you can look at your life and easily tell whether you are living that passion. Once you know what your passions are and how your life will look when you are living it, you can create action plans to turn your dreams into reality. Another technique you can use to help you identify your purpose is to conduct a joy review. When I did this it was when I was a patrol leader in the Boy-Scouts, when I was an officer in my military high school, when I was a summer camp counselor at a camp in Maine, my years as a leader in my college fraternity, my years as a high school teacher, when I was conducting workshops and training, when I was telling jokes, telling stories and when I was traveling.

In my case, it was when I was teaching, inspiring, and empowering people to reach for their dreams and to have more love, joy, and abundance in their lives. One of my coaching students, a successful cardiologist, was struggling to identify his purpose. I suggested another exercise, and asked him to look back over his life and answer the question, When have I felt most fulfilled? When I asked him what was common to all three of these experiences, he told me that it was the sense of freedom that he felt.

Noticing that none of his three experiences related to his profession in medicine, I asked him to tell me about his most fulfilling experiences as a doctor. As we examined his life further, it became apparent that he took very little time for himself. He was always on call, always working late, always over-scheduled with little or no free time for self-care. I asked him why this was so. The problem became clear: By attending only to patients and never to himself, he was in a sense- dying.

If you operate on this patient, you will die. What would you do? This was a turning point in his life. He later told me that while he still wants to serve people, he now knows he has a right to take care of himself, his mind, his body, and his needs. Once you know what your life purpose is, organize all of your activities around it. Everything you do should be an expression of your purpose.

Aligning with your purpose is most critical when setting professional goals. When it comes to your own personal branding goals, you have more flexibility. Or do you prefer sharing the latest money-saving tips you discovered? The things you like to talk about and the things you enjoy sharing on social media may reveal the things that give you purpose in life. 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.

You might find your career gives you the ability to afford to help a cause you feel passionate about. Or, you might find that you are able to donate time—as opposed to money—to give to a cause that you believe in. 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. Consider what type of skills, talents, and passions you bring to the table. Then, brainstorm how you might turn your passion into something meaningful to you. It can be a lifelong journey , and it can only be done one step at a time.

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. You can definitely have more than one purpose, too. If you give haircuts to people, you might decide your purpose in life is to help others feel beautiful.

If you work as a school custodian, you might find your purpose is creating an environment that helps children learn. Sometimes that road to finding your purpose has a few curves, forks, and stop lights. Learn the best ways to manage stress and negativity in your life.

Khullar D. Finding Purpose for a Good Life. But Also a Healthy One. The New York Times. The Upshot. Applied Psychology : 2: Subjective wellbeing, health, and ageing.

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