Finding your calling, or your life purpose, seems to be one of the biggest challenges in life. I see many questions in forums about self-help that discuss this issue. It shows that it’s a monumental problem that we face that makes us feel confused and lost when we don’t understand it.
The task of finding your purpose or calling is an arduous one. But it’s important because it affects the quality of your life. The Manifestation Miracle program explains that understanding your purpose or your “destiny” is a key to building a happy life. Besides that program, I want to share a few steps you can take to help nudge you in the right direction of finding your calling.
Living according to your calling or purpose means that you live a fulfilled and satisfied life. You may not experience perfect days, but they are good enough to make you satisfied. You are doing enough to make a small impact, and have plans to make a bigger impact over time. Living in this condition is a worthy goal that can bring you happiness in the long-term.
Table of Contents
1 – Clear Up Space to Ask Long-Term Questions
The first action to take to find your calling is to reduce clutter from your life. Living in clutter, both physical and mental, makes it difficult for you to see and think clearly about anything. Taking care that your physical space and mental space has as little clutter as possible helps to create the mood necessary to begin asking important and profound questions.
Reducing clutter doesn’t only mean cleaning your room, home, or work environment. It also means cleaning your schedule from tasks that pile up, making you feel like you don’t have time for anything else. Do your best to finish the most important tasks, eliminate the inessential ones, and delegate the tasks that you can.
Once you begin to reduce your workload, you can see where your next destination is. In my case, once I began having less work to do, I started asking myself what do I do next? Where does this work end up? What do I have to do to get to where I want to be? Without having this space to ask long-term questions, finding your calling will get lost, buried beneath the pile of tasks you must do.
Once you get rid of clutter and distractions, you can take inventory of your life. You can figure out what you find worthy of doing and what you only do to make ends meet and pay the bills. Do more of what you find worthy in the long-term, and do less that only makes ends meet if you can. Building on the activities that are based on your calling will make you see what it is you want and how you can get there.
2 – Identify Your Strengths and Weaknesses
One of the long-term questions to ask is to identify what you are good at and what you aren’t good at. You may already have some idea about this based on what you do every day, but be intentional about it. You can take strength assessment tests or personality tests to help you get a clear picture about what impact you can make in this world.
Most people confuse their calling with their job or activities. In my case, I love to play and make music, but it isn’t my life calling or purpose. Music is the form of my calling, but my calling can take other shapes and forms in different fields of profession.
That’s why it’s alright to change your professions as you figure out your purpose. It might feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, going from one job to another, but if you look deeply you’ll find that what you do is an expression of your calling, even if it’s only a little bit.
Your life calling will use your strengths, so be brave to try to use them as often as possible. You may need to change many jobs before you find the best fit that leverages your strengths and the needs of other people.
A good example is Richard Branson, a billionaire who has many businesses, from soft drinks to airplanes. It might look random at first, but once you understand his calling is adventure, then it makes sense. He explores many ideas and brings them to life for the benefit of many people.
3 – Say Both Yes and No to Opportunities
The path to your life purpose is revealed through the opportunities that appear in your life. There are opportunities that are perfect for you to take, while others seem good at first glance, but only end up eating up your time and resources. Say yes to the right ones and say no to the wrong ones.
Good opportunities are the ones that build upon your strength. That’s why you ought to understand your strengths so that you can curate a list of opportunities that look like a good fit. You will still have to try each opportunity to know which are the best ones, but knowing your strength will be a good filter to filter out the bad ones.
The way I identify the right opportunities is simply if I don’t have to think to say yes to it. An easy example is if you want to buy a book for some time, and one day you find it at a big discount, then it becomes a no-brainer for you to buy it. Maybe you want to sign up to an online course that can equip you with the right knowledge to grow yourself, and there’s a special offer discount on. Those are the kind of right opportunities to take.
The wrong opportunities are the ones where you have to think whether to take it or not. They may sound good, but aren’t always necessary. You wouldn’t buy any book or program simply because there is a discount. Beware of the trap of not saying no enough to the “fake” opportunities that pop up.
Opportunities are important because they lead you in the right direction to your calling. Either that, or they are a direct channel to express your calling. The right opportunities usually involve some way of helping people that need your expertise. When you begin to help the right people, they can show you more opportunities that grow both your mental and physical prosperity.
4 – Give Service to Other People
No matter what your calling or life purpose is, I find that it always leads to helping and serving other people in some way. Maybe not directly, but what you do has an impact for other people.
On top of that, a fulfilled life is often, if not always, one where you are connected with other people, including nature and other living beings. It’s a state where you feel vibrant and alive. Serving other people is a good channel to figure out your life calling to know how specifically you want to make an impact.
In my case, I love helping people solve their problems. Whether it’s a small problem, like how to find a certain piece of information, or a big problem pertaining to their lives, I love finding the correct solution. That’s part of why I write this article is to help you understand your purpose and find your calling. It’s part of my own calling in life.
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