The Purpose of Your Purpose

Why am I here? What was I put on this earth to do? What’s my role in life?

At some point we all have moments of existential crises, panicking about what we have done or should have done and what we still need to do.

Although it’s common to dismiss these moments as temporary hysterias or too late lamentations we should really be listening to these moments and stopping to consider what’s at the root of it all.

What’s your purpose?

Let’s start with what may seem obvious: What do you love? I’m sure you know by now how much easier it is to do anything when it involves things close to your heart or things you enjoy.

Don’t default to common comforts like sleeping in or drinking. Think about what makes your heart race or what makes you look forward to the next day/week/month/year. Finding purpose and purposeful work in these areas will bring you an incredible degree of satisfaction and improve your life in numerous ways.

Passion is a major part of what makes us wake up in the morning and keeps us motivated throughout the day. It gives us an incredible drive that can keep us going regardless of what life throws at us. Working will rarely feel like work if it aligns with your passion.

Another important question to ask yourself: What do you want to fight? What injustices do you want to help stop?

We all see things that hit us in a very specific and profound way. There are certain elements of inequality that stand out to us and speak to us. This is a good way to determine purpose.

Thomas Edison said that “Success is 99% Perspiration and 1% Inspiration” but that 1% is a large part of what drives you.

Fighting injustice is hard and you have to have a thirst for the cause to survive the setbacks (and there will be setbacks). At the same time, doing your part to make the world a better place is worth the struggle.

Then of course is the important question of what skills and talents you can bring to the table. Your abilities will affect how you can help your chosen causes and knowing what you can offer is important when approaching the initiatives.

Are you a good writer? An excellent fundraiser? Can you instantly make people feel at home with your laid-back demeanor? Are you a strong and hard worker able to do manual labour?

Regardless of the area(s) in which you excel you will be able to offer your cause(s) valuable support. Knowing where you’ll #work best, however, will save both you and the cause time and effort and put you both on the road to a better tomorrow.

It’s often been said that we need to ensure we leave the Earth in a better place than it was when we started. There are so many routes you could take and so many factors that impact your actions. Although this can seem overwhelming it also means there is a lot of room for adaptability—or in other words, you can go your own way.

The We Foundation uses the formula “Gift + Issue = Change” as its driver for finding your cause and this is a very good road map to use when choosing where to devote your time and energy. It’s a good and simple way to look at how you create your own path. Take your talents and apply them to a just cause and watch as change is made.

This is definitely an example of purposeful work and is something we should all be aiming to do.