This is one of those questions that comes up hauntingly too often.
Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.
Please, allow me give you the short answer about finding meaning and purpose in your life so you can get started.
Grab a sheet of paper and a pen.
Answer the question, “Why do I exist?”
Write everything you can think. Do a brain dump.
Once you’ve completed this, distill your pages into one page.
Then, distill your one page into a paragraph.
Reduce that paragraph to a sentence.
Reduce the sentence to two words.
The first word is an action verb or gerund (ends with an “ing” like liberating, awakening, or igniting).
The second word is an object.
Give these words a generic beginning of, “I exist to serve by…”
Now you have written your purpose statement.
Here
are three actual samples of purpose statements from our workshops.
I exist to serve by…
- Liberating Greatness
- Awakening Worth
- Igniting Joy
These probably aren’t what you were expecting. Most people expect a
purpose statement to be something related to their work or an activity
they are doing. Those are mission statements. Your purpose sparks
your vision which inspires your missions. It is important to know the
difference between purpose, vision, mission, and values.
Finally, we offer a self-study course called The On-Purpose Puzzle that goes into depth on the topic of finding your purpose, refining your life purpose, and applying your purpose so you are on-purpose.