How To Live a Life With Purpose |

Finding a purpose in life is something very obscure for most of us. It is usually linked to the future, to other places, experiences, or something to be achieved. It’s easy to think it’s impossible.

The ups and downs of work and social life sometimes make things lose their meaning, with an emptiness growing in the chest. People end up becoming more quiet, isolated and even deny this feeling. What usually comes next is the desire for a greater intensity of sensory and social experiences, which can be characterized by the search for whatever can give reason to keep going, at least for a day.

Palliative methods help, in the short term, to quickly cheer up and encourage finding answers. But staying in that situation for a long time wears you down, increasing the emptiness. Why is it so difficult to find, follow and achieve a purposeful life?

Purpose is the journey, not the destination

Two words define well what a life with purpose is. One is the “vocation”, commonly used in the West, which comes from the Latin vocation and it means something like “call of nature” or “inner call”. In the East, the Sanskrit word is used a lot. dharmawhich, despite having apparently different translations, are actually complementary: “duty”, “path”, “journey” or “commitments”.

Happiness is available here, now, for all beings everywhere. What leads to your encounter is to align everyday life with purpose

Having a life with purpose is possible from the combination of vocation and dharma. Purpose is the natural call to fulfill your commitment to life. It has nothing to do with achieving something in the future, which can be understood as a goal, objective or dream. Purpose is the journey, not the destination.

Living a life with purpose

We have a natural internal compass that points the way: the heart. When it squeezes, it can be a sign that we are at odds with our purpose. When it relieves, in turn, it can indicate a tune. It’s not easy to identify how to realign yourself to purpose once you realize your heart is tight. It is necessary to reflect and investigate, ask for help or be inspired by someone.

We usually have a doubt when we feel that pressure and, in general, the answer is within us, but there is the fear of deciding or not knowing how to do it. Therefore, an expert or mentor can help unlock fear and provide clarity on decision-making and paths to be taken.

It is a mistake to believe that purpose is static when, in fact, it is changeable, an ongoing unfolding. Doubts may arise along the way, but they bring useful information that helps in the journey and serves as a warning. They must be taken into account to plan and reflect on the best paths.

Happiness is available here, now, for all beings everywhere. What leads to its encounter is to align everyday life with purpose. So how do we live a purposeful life every day?

Have clear principles: list three principles that are evidently positive and constructive for the world (love, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, generosity, detachment, harmony, peace, gratitude, or any other that makes sense). If the principles you’ve chosen no longer make sense or don’t seem to be working, replace them with ones that make more sense at the time. The principles are your personal laws and must be kept silent. The most important thing is to align yourself more and more with them and never give up following them. Keep moving forward no matter what! Your principles are also your purpose: if you are becoming more and more your principles, your purpose is already happening. You need to use your talents in order to translate them into the real world, into everyday life, through actions, words and, mainly, thoughts. Negative thoughts will come and it doesn’t matter how many times they come as long as you choose to re-align with principles. It doesn’t matter how many times you leave the center, what matters is how many times you come back to it! Your purpose is the only thing that matters: the results and gains are secondary, the important thing is to let happiness emerge at every moment, being who you are at every moment. If you are being you, it will contribute to the world in some way, as well as inspire others. Being yourself is the best thing you can do for yourself and the world!

It’s worth noting that it’s okay to have short-term personal achievements. Pleasures such as eating well and going out with friends are healthy, but if placed before the purpose for a long time, they can cause frustration.

In addition to these main tips, you can download the free self-challenge guide to learn about tools and resources to complement and encourage the pursuit of your greater purpose.