Choose Happy

3 STEPS TO FIND YOUR PURPOSE

Everyone has the same 24 hours in each day but how come people still live aimlessly day to day? The truth is, most people DON'T want that type of life but they find themselves stuck in a perpetual cycle of lost time, lost desires and lost emotions. If you find yourself in that position know that its not permanent. Life is a journey and you are here to discover what truly sets your soul on fire. Every person on this planet serves a purpose but not everyone realizes what that purpose is right away. If you find yourself in that boat, this activity in this chapter will help guide you based on your own interests to the true meaning and direction of your life. 

In this chapter I want to challenge you to follow through with a short journaling activity to help you channel your inner purpose. This activity will consist of three mind maps to help you develop a vision for your interests and develop a game plan to deepen your skill set. A mind map is a more creative form of journaling that helps to organize your thoughts around one cohesive topic. So here are three steps to finding your purpose:

STEP 1:

1) Identify your interests

GUIDANCE FOR MIND MAP 1:

For the first mind map I'd like for you to start by writing in the center of the page, "My Passions". In this mind map I want you to sincerely reflect on what activities in your daily life that you have a passion for. Things that if money didn't matter and you could just do these activities for the rest of your life, what would they be? Make sure this mind map includes things that are based off of sheer excitement and passion alone. Only the things that bring you joy should be on this mind map. For example, if you are at a job that you hate but you are bringing home a good paycheck that should not be on the list. Basing your passions off of the monetary gain alone should be excluded. So start by reflecting for a few minutes then create your first mind map. This map is essential to completing step one of finding your purpose which is, identifying your interests. These should be things that you love doing and most importantly don't allow the opinions of others influence what you do or do not enjoy. At the end of the day this activity is so that you can reflect without judgement on your passions in life, not others.

STEP 2:

2) Develop your interests into a skill

GUIDANCE FOR MIND MAP 2:

For the second mind map activity i'd like for you to reflect on how you can turn those interests and passions into a skill. Start by writing in the center of your mind map, "My Passion Action Plan". By doing this activity specifically look into ways you can practice and develop your knowledge and abilities in these areas. Here are some things to consider in this activity.

1) Books, online forums, or other resources you can tap into to help enhance your knowledge on that topic.

2) Time that you can incorporate practicing that specific activity into your daily schedule. 

3) Steps you need to take to make that activity a valuable and mastered skill.

4) Identifiable milestone goals to measure your progress.

Hopefully these ideas help spark some ways that you can turn each passion of yours into a mastered skill. During this process make sure that you include measurable goal milestones to track you progress. Address the steps you need to take to hone in on your passions in life. This mind map serves as a action plan to help you develop your interest into lifelong valuable skills. Our purpose in life can be defined as pursuing the passions and utilizing our newly mastered skills to create value in other peoples lives. So that brings us to our next step...

STEP 3:

3) Use that skill to add value to your life and others lives

GUIDANCE FOR MIND MAP 3:

Once you've completed steps one and two to finding your purpose, step three is about applying your interests that you've developed into skills to add value to other peoples lives. Begin by labeling the middle of the map, "How my purpose can add value". Spread the things that you are passionate and knowledgeable about to help inspire others to do the same. So in your third mind map reflect on the ways that you can use your new found purpose in life to motivate and add value to other peoples lives. The third component is one of the most important because it is what truly gives you that sense of meaning. So how can you use your passion to inspire someone today?