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Find Your Purpose in Your Pain

Without re-living it emotionally and only if you are comfortable doing so, consider:

    What is the earliest negative memory you have?
    What happened?
    What did you make it mean?
    What did you decide about yourself?
    What did you decide about the world?

Notice how you spend your life reinforcing this story.

Take yourself through this process with a pre-teen defining event. There is likely another one in young adulthood and another one at mid-life. There may be others.

For each one identify the strength you developed in response as a coping mechanism.

    What couldn’t you get enough of as a child?
    What do you find yourself thinking or ranting a lot when assessing situations?

Look to your pain and the way you compensated to find what you are passionate about and what you have unique ability to contribute. Compare the insight you get here with your strengths and preferences to build a unique selling proposition.

More Purpose Questions

What makes you smile? (Activities, people, events, hobbies, projects, etc.)

What did you want to be when you grew up? What were your favorite things to do? Now?

What activities make you lose track of time? What makes you feel great about yourself?

There was a time, it could have been a long time ago, or recently, when you did something that made you feel like you were on top of the world. What were you doing?

Who inspires you most? (Anyone you know or do not know. family, friends, authors, artists, leaders, etc.) Which qualities inspire you, in each person?

What are you naturally good at? (skills, abilities, gifts etc.)

What do you like to do? What do you do in your spare time? What do you read? What are your hobbies?

What do people typically ask you for help in?

If you had to teach something, what would you teach?

What would you regret not fully doing, being, or having in your life?

You are now 90 years old, sitting on a rocking chair outside your porch. You are blissful and happy, and are pleased with the wonderful life you’ve been blessed with. Looking back at your life and all that you’ve achieved and acquired, all the relationships you’ve developed; what matters to you most? List them out.

What are your deepest values? Prioritize them in order of importance to you.

What were some challenges, difficulties, and hardships you’ve overcome or are in the process of overcoming? How did you do it?

What causes do you strongly believe in? Connect with?

What message would you like to give to the world? Who would your audience be?

Given your talents, passions, and values, how could you use these resources to serve, to help, to contribute? (to people, beings, causes organization, environment, planet, etc.)

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?