To discover your purpose you need to use a series of questions that help you to get to the core experience you are committed to having. So let’s start with a baseline question.
1. What is something you love doing now in your life?
For example: you may love playing with your kids, creating music, gardening, surfing, snowboarding or going shopping. Maybe you love supporting your local charity or driving your car really fast. It really makes no difference where you start in this questioning process because you will always end up at the experience you love having in your life.
2. Now, keep in mind that thing you love doing and answer this question, “What’s important about doing that?”
For example: I love playing with my kids, so my answer is, “I like to connect with them and I know that this time with them is limited so I want to enjoy it as much as possible.”
That’s my answer based on what I chose. What is your answer based on what you chose? Answer it now. Don’t just sit here reading without fully participating and engaging the process.
3. With your second answer in mind answer this question, “How is that important to you? If you get stuck you can try this question instead, “What will (answer #2) do for you?”
Continuing with my example, my answer would be, “Sometimes I get so caught up in work and my own life that I need a break from being serious and my kids are wonderful and helping me get grounded, simple and light-hearted. I want to create lifelong friendships with each of them so that I can support them in living their dreams”
What is your answer using your own criteria?
4. The last question helps you to get the experience you are committed to having. Ask yourself, “Ultimately what will all of this do for you?
Now answer this question by describing the ultimate experience you get from this activity. You will find yourself using words like joy, love, fulfilled, happy, exhilaration, energized or any other word that describes a positive internal state.