When I was 18, I started community college to become a graphic design artist. At the time it made sense. Art was one of my interests, and if I were to pick a career to stick with for the rest of my life, then a career in one of my interests made sense. Boy was I wrong. After classes, I decided I enjoyed doing graphic design as a hobby but didn’t want to turn it into a career. I ended up changing my major to accounting. I had taken it in high school, and it was a subject I enjoyed and did well in. Like graphic design, it didn’t stick and I found myself struggling through my classes.
I ended up graduating from community college with a general associate’s degree with no idea of what to do next. For years I struggled to find my purpose, I played around with the idea of going back to school and looked into different career paths, but nothing felt right. It wasn’t until I reframed my thinking that I was able to find my purpose.
Here’s the truth we exist on this earth for an undetermined amount of time and we do things. Some of those things are important and some of them are unimportant. Those important things are what give our lives meaning and bring us joy. The unimportant things are there to basically kill time. I used to ask myself “what is my life purpose?” That thing you were put on this earth to do, your higher calling.
Most of us have no clue what to do what our lives. It took me years to clearly define what I wanted to do with my life. I felt stuck for years bouncing from idea to idea, not knowing where to start in building a fulfilling life. Finding our purpose in life and building a life that’s fulling and meaningful life is something we all strive for. But where do we start? Discovering your purpose can be tricky, but here are some steps that’ll hopefully help you find your purpose.
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Start Where you are
Instead of questioning your life purpose, it’s better to explore and discover who you are. The truth is we don’t have all the answers. When I decided on my major for school it was based on what I thought would be a good career path. I didn’t do any research into what a graphic designer does and ended learning the hard way. Try new things and invite exploration and curiosity in, stop thinking about what you want to do, and start doing. Test out things and find out what drives you and what doesn’t.
Let go of Dysfunctional Beliefs
We hold on to dysfunctional beliefs like a degree determines your career path, if your successful you’ll be happy, or it’s too late. Dysfunctional beliefs are myths that keep us from moving forward. To find your purpose, and build your dream life. You have to let go of dysfunctional beliefs and reframe your thinking. Instead of thinking it’s too late to make changes, reframe it to it’s never too late. There’s no set time in life to discover your purpose. As we grow we change, and what excited us five years ago might bore us now. As an exercise write down some of your dysfunctional beliefs, then reframe them.
Don’t be so hard on Yourself
Finding your purpose and building your dream life is a journey. It’s different for everyone and it’s filled with both ups and downs. Some might have an easy time figuring things out, while others might have a harder time. Don’t be so hard on yourself. Celebrate each step you take towards finding your purpose no matter how small.
Finding your purpose in life and building a meaningful life full of joy is within reach. It doesn’t matter if you’re twenty or sixty, it’s never too late to find your purpose in life. All you need to do is be willing to take the first steps towards it. In my journey to finding my purpose, I found the book Designing your life: how to Build a well-lived Joyful life helpful. The authors use design thinking as a way to help readers design a meaningful and joyful life regardless of age or where they are in life. You can grab a copy of it here.
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