You roll out of bed again, after hitting snooze for the umpteenth time, and wonder why bother.

Another day, but not much of a dollar. Can’t stick to your exercise plan or your money goals, and your relationship has more rocks than an icy margarita.

What is the purpose of it all, anyway?

The hardest question you may ask yourself is what your purpose is for life. But if you are asking yourself this question, stop first to celebrate and give yourself a pat on the back!

Many people go through life without even questioning that they have a purpose. Their purpose may be to get through their day, get to Friday so they can party all weekend, or just get up on time to get their kids to school and have a little bit of time for themselves.

But if you have been contemplating your life purpose, you may be feeling low. That’s normal, because you may be feeling the “not enough” syndrome.

So here are 5 fun but easy steps to discover your life purpose and get you out of that “not enough” feeling.

The Power of Choice

“The greatest power we have is the power of choice. It is an actual fact, that if you have been groping under unhappiness, you can choose to be joyous instead. And, by effort, lift yourself into joy. If you tend to be fearful, you can overcome that misery by choosing to have courage. The whole trend and quality of anyone’s life is determined by the choices that are made.”

Norman Vincent Peale.

The most important activity of your mind is choice.

By making a choice, you are proclaiming your desires to your subconscious mind.

If you’re choosing to be upset over something, you’re letting your subconscious mind know that you want to be upset. And believe me, it will then show you all kinds of ways in which you can be upset.

It’s something called Reticular Activating System, and if you haven’t heard of it, I highly recommend you learn more.

Even if later, you aren’t upset and you “tell yourself” that you do not want to be upset and it is not your goal, if that is your overall feeling and vibration, your subconscious mind is going to continue to believe that you are desiring the energy you normally choose, which is to be upset.

Your subconscious mind is 7/8^th of your mind, and your conscious is 1/8^th.

Once your subconscious gets to know your desires, it’s going to do everything that it can to manifest those desires into your life. That’s why it’s so important to make conscious choices and decisions on what you really want to feel.

It doesn’t mean hiding your emotions, but honoring them and letting them go.          

The choices you make can actually be the driving force behind the creation of your goals and desires.

Indecision, on the other hand, creates frustration and anxiety, and can also confuse the subconscious mind about what you want.

Be careful that you don’t let others make your choices for you, or choices that you think are “correct”, even if it means going against your authenticity. What is right for someone else might not be right for you. If you are truly open to knowing who you are as a person, it’s much easier to live according to your true desires, purposes and aptitudes.

The Power of Authenticity

What is your authenticity?

What interests you?

If you don’t understand yourself, indecision creeps in, and you can be easily led by others. And, like a hamster wheel, your subconscious will continue giving you what you don’t truly want. 

If you’re not following your truth and what is authentic to you, you will never feel good. Your vibration will stay low.

That’s why it’s important to be true to yourself, and to understand your interests.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

What do I love to do?

Why?

How can I integrate this into my daily life?

What makes me feel good?

What inspires me to move ahead, no matter what obstacle I face?

Once you understand your interests, make a point to do them as often as possible. If you love to read a good fiction book (like I do), make a point to read every day. Find time for that self-care.

And don’t feel guilty about it!

That doesn’t mean binge watching TV every single day for 8 hours. Or drinking an entire bottle of wine daily. But it does mean not feeling guilty if you made that choice one time this month.

What is it that you love to do that, when you do it, time passes so seamlessly?

Once you have the answer to these questions, move on to the next step.

The Most Important Question

The most important question I have ever seen asked was a question from Lara Casey  and it was: “Where do you want to be when you are 80?”

And basically, is what you are doing now putting you a step closer to that goal?

I wrote more about it here.

I realized that some of the things I thought I wanted to do with my life weren’t that important to me, and they weren’t putting me closer to my goal of where I want to be when I’m 80.

You may think about your life plan and your future, the goals you think you want to do. I mean, exercising is definitely a good choice for being healthy when you’re 80.

But goals are just goals and don’t always lead up to a life purpose other than to make you feel fulfilled.

So, what are your needs in life so that, when you are 80, you feel like you lived your purpose? Mine is to feel love, accepted, and fulfilled. Ask yourself those questions, what you truly need in life, are you getting those and if not, what you can do to get those?

I know that to feel love, I have to embody love. To feel fulfilled, there are certain things to do in life, such as helping others, loving others completely even if I don’t like them, and being creative and doing fun things in my life. Those are just a few examples, but once you figure out what you actually need to have a fulfilling life and where you want to be when you are 80, you can craft your purpose around those goals.

Create a Mission Statement

Look over your list and see if there is a recurring theme. Maybe it’s a certain idea that keeps coming up, or a desire to write a book, start a business, raise your kids, volunteer for a project that’s been on your mind. Whatever it is, try to identify the central theme of the things you love to do and put them in a short statement.

This will be your “Mission Statement”.

I wanted to be a writer since I was nine years old. And when I was about 18, I did start writing, then I’d stop, and then I’d start again. I finally did publish 8 novels, and felt like that was my life purpose.

Then, I suffered severe burnout. Working a full-time trauma-infused job in prosecution, writing (sometimes about trauma) in my fiction novels, I had a serious setback.

But it was also the biggest and best transformation of my life. It was when I answered the question of “Where do I want to be when I’m 80?”

Realize that we don’t always have just one purpose in life. Your purpose does not have to be huge and impactful. Your purpose may to just be a good person in life, and that is fantastic!

Here is my mission statement:

“I embody my higher self by living a life of love, integrity, growth, compassion, and authenticity.”

Align Your Life with Your Mission Statement

(or Embody Your Mission Statement)

Now that I have a mission statement, if I’m feeling low, I review it and think about where I might be ignoring those parts of me. Am I being authentic to myself? And I growing? And I putting love into everything I do?

What triggered me to make me feel so low? Why? This is a good opportunity to really dig deep into yourself, and embodying your authenticity.

If I encounter someone rude at the post office, I show compassion, because that’s just who I am and I know if I don’t embody that, I won’t feel full or free. I will constantly second-guess and doubt myself. And I definitely won’t feel fulfilled.

Now that you have your mission statement, map your path to your ultimate purpose. Implement changes that help to align your daily life with your underlying purpose.

By making these little changes in your lifestyle, it will get easier and easier to live out this mission every day. Becoming aware and intentional of this mission statement of your life, you will find your vibration getting and even staying higher, and you will find more enthusiasm as you go about your day.

If you find that you love nature, make a point to go outside in nature every day. Plan a camping trip, or even an outing with your children. Make a point to walk outside every single day.

If you discover that you love helping those in need, volunteer for your community, offer a smile to those who are sad, or find something you can do for someone that will fill you up.

Life has plenty of ways it can decrease our energy or take away our cup of fulfillment, so find meaningful ways on a daily basis to fill that cup.

Here’s another post about aligning your life with your mission statement.

Living Your Authentic Life

I believe anyone’s biggest purpose is to live your best life. Whether or not you believe you have a purpose, living your best life can only be done when you are living it authentically. By following the steps above, you are well on your way to discovering and living your purpose and thus, your authenticity.

If you hit bumps along the way, remember your mission statement. Memorize it. Write it out every day. And question the decisions you make to see if they line up to your mission statement.

You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.

Steve Maraboli