What is a life purpose?

Within the trends of spirituality, being more “zen,” more “cool,” and staying on trend, people often talk about life purpose as if everyone knew what it is and the necessity of having it was implicit. Today, we're going to spend some time understanding what a life purpose is and how you can explore yours—not for the sake of fashion, but for the benefits of having clarity about your purpose.

After studying extensively about life purpose, how to help my clients connect with theirs, and how to develop it, the definition of purpose that has most resonated with me is from Dr. Peter Hawkins (a leadership specialist and writer, with whom I recently completed a leadership course): “Purpose is the point where what you have to offer the world meets what the world needs you to be or do.”

A life purpose helps us achieve our personal goals, understand what makes us happy and what distances us from happiness, and what resonates within us, making us feel fulfilled and satisfied. It fills that void that sometimes exists in response to existential questions like: “Why am I here?” “Should I continue down this path?”… Purpose guides us along the right path and gives meaning to our life.

Let’s break down Dr. Hawkins’ definition: “Purpose is the point where what you have to offer the world meets what the world needs you to be or do.”

What do I have to offer?

Reflect on these questions: What are you good at? What comes naturally to you? Why do people admire you? What do you like doing? What makes you vibrate within the world or with people? Why do people often express gratitude to you?

I’ll give you an example (as always, of an imaginary person). Maria’s reflections on these questions are:

– I am good at handling multiple things at once, I like being organized, I am good at my job (as a nurse), and I feel a sense of responsibility towards the patients. – I believe people admire me because I always smile, I am always in a good mood, and I treat the patients at the hospital with great care. – I really like my job, I enjoy helping people, keeping everything organized, and ensuring that the people I assist feel a bit better. – What makes me vibrate is the gratitude of people when they leave the hospital; I feel fulfilled and satisfied when they leave with thanks for the treatment they received. The same goes for when anyone smiles at me sincerely, from the heart—that genuine smile that you know is real. – People often express their gratitude for how I make them feel, often saying that “I am a spark of light” because of my cheerful nature and smile.

What does the world need from me?

After Maria has reflected on the questions above, I ask her the second part, and she better understands what the world needs from her: “My help and care, my smile and good humor, and the order I bring to things in the hospital.”

Once Maria reflects on these two points, she comes to the conclusion that her life purpose is to help others feel well. That is what makes her feel good herself. What makes her vibrate is the sincere smile of people and feeling the gratitude for trying to make life a bit easier for those around her. Maria has often considered leaving nursing because she has two children, she is divorced, and the shifts are tough. After understanding what truly makes her happy, she knows that wherever she works, to feel good, the job will need to be related to people, where she can offer her “spark of light.”

Understanding ourselves better leads to making better decisions, being more consistent with what you enjoy, and ultimately having more moments of happiness in your life. Your purpose can evolve as you grow personally; the reflection I described earlier can help you focus at each stage of your life. Fulfillment only comes when one knows oneself and is able to distinguish between what I am and what I want to be. Knowing your life purpose is a means to being closer to that fulfillment.

Image by Freepik

Melinda Sánchez Coach

www.melindasanchezcoach.com