Since I was a small girl, I dreamed of becoming a writer. My father thought it was a horrible idea. And so did everyone else.
I was eventually resigned to a life of nothingness. After graduation, however, I couldn’t bear to be conformist any longer. I decided to explore the world of writing.
My childhood dream was not something I should take lightly. I worked for ten years to figure out what I wanted and why. I also published two books and started a blog.
For the first time ever in my life, I felt like I was making an impact on the world. The pandemic struck, and all of that changed.
I felt that I wasn’t living my purpose. My contribution to the world didn’t seem significant enough. As someone who knows words are powerful and my words had helped others, I tried to resist the urge to think.
After all my difficulties, I didn’t want to ruin my career. I hoped this was a temporary occurrence caused by the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic.
My thoughts did not change as the days turned into months. I stopped and took a deep breath, realizing that I had to rediscover my purpose again.
It was scary to think of having to start all over again. After much reflection and research, I realized that this is a common occurrence, but not discussed as often as needed.
Life’s purpose changes as we grow old. This realization made me realize my purpose and I set out to find it again. Follow these steps to do it.
How To Find Your Purpose In Life
1. See Things Through The Eyes Of A Beginner
A beginner’s mind is about looking at things from the perspective of a beginner. This means you should explore your values and interests as if it were the first time.
You can forget about your prejudices, likes, biases and opinions about the world and yourself. You can let go of all professional knowledge to make your mind open to new possibilities.
Although this is not an easy task, it is possible. Writing was my only purpose in life, for example. Even though I didn’t feel that way, it was hard to let go of this belief.
It was a huge mistake that I made, but I realized I had so many possibilities once I let it go. You will experience the same feeling if you adopt a beginner’s mentality.
2. Start Thinking About New Career Prospects
This step should be much easier if you already have a beginner’s mind. Assume you are a new graduate student with no idea of what your career path is. Next, take a few career assessment tests.
You can take 3-5 tests, and keep the results. Each test will give you a list of possible careers that may be a good match for you.
Focus on the career options that are most interesting to you, and those that come up frequently. Instead of focusing on what you love, focus on the positive changes you wish to see in the world.
This will give you a list to help you narrow down the possible careers you might be interested in, based on your aptitude. This is a great place to start. All you need to do now is combine your strengths and interests.
You will need to do extensive research about each career and their responsibilities, and how they match with your interests. This will allow you to narrow down your options.
It’s not a good match if you dislike attention and are introverted. Full disclosure: This is why I had to remove acting from my list.
3. Identify Your Goals
My experience with career tests can be overwhelming. You are likely to be offered a wide range of career options, just like me. Too many options can cause anxiety, confusion, or analysis paralysis.
This is why I decided to write down everything. So I created a list with the things I wanted and a list with the things I didn’t want in my professional career.
One of my ‘don’t want’ items stated that I didn’t want to work alongside people with serious mental health problems. One of my ‘wants’ items stated that I would like to help people with mental illness. After I had figured it out, I was able to choose between clinical psychology and counseling psychology.
4. Go By Your Inner Feelings
After completing the above steps, you should now have at least one solid career option in front of your. If you are unable to choose one or have multiple options, you will know who you should trust. Your gut instinct. Your gut instinct is strong and should be respected, even if you have all the information.
At the end of my evaluation I was torn between being a counselor or a life coach. Both options can make a difference in people’s lives. My gut told me that I would be more at home in counseling than coaching.
Psychology was something I have always wanted to do. I have now enrolled in a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. Now, I cannot wait for classes start.
This four-step process will help you find your purpose in life. Once you have done that, you must continue to pursue it. Self-motivation is a good thing. So is public accountability.
(The writer wishes to remain anonymous)