Sometimes it might feel as though you’ll never find your life purpose. There’s so much to do in your everyday life that there barely seems to be time to get the basics done. And besides, the world’s problems are so big and overwhelming, what can one person do? Time to reframe and take control.
Exploring what you want to do to have a positive impact on the world can be a fascinating and fulfilling process in itself. Here are five steps you can take to find your calling.
- Find your Big Thing
Look inwards to see what it is that fires you up. What are you passionate about in your life? What do you love doing? What you talk about for hours? What inspires you? Check your browser history and your reading list. Your Big Thing is right in front of you, all you have to do is claim it!
- Identify your superpower
Everyone has something they do where they excel. Write down all the things you’re good at, pick out the top one or two that stand out, the ones that you can offer right now. Instead of feeling helpless, recognize that you have a unique combination of experience and skill to offer the world. No one else in the history of the world can offer what you offer right now.
- Volunteer
Whatever your life purpose is, you want to have a positive impact on your community, right? Think about who you want to help. Do you relate to children, or seniors or single moms? Are your superpower skills useful for fundraising or writing submissions? Are you more comfortable as a hands-on career or assistant? Find an organization that could do with a helping hand, whether it’s pro bono work or hands-on volunteering.
- Bring it all together
Once you’ve identified your Big Thing, you know what your unique superpowers are and how you want to serve your community, you can connect the dots. What are the common themes? You might be passionate about human rights, be an excellent public speaker and choose to work pro bono as an advocate for your local Amnesty branch. Or you may offer free haircuts or styling to homeless people or the unemployed.
- Act!
Now you have your life purpose package you can swing into action. Look for opportunities to align your life purpose with tangible action out in the world. Be bold and resolve to do what you can where you can. You might not be able to achieve world peace, but you can make your community a better place.
