So, here’s my controversial take on this.
Most of you are familiar with artists turned social media influencers who have made riches out of simple content creation.
That’s hard-earned money going towards their daily expenses and supporting more content creation. Gradually, most of these creators eventually turn their passion into business and Viola!- A new product or service is launched.
Now, picture this: A content creator on Instagram clearing myths about overrated diet plans and workouts. Pitching healthy recipes and encouraging a whole bunch of like-minded people to adopt the healthy way of living.
My question to you is simple- Who’s sleeping better?
- Creation, Fame, and Cash?
- Creation, Fame, Purpose, and Cash?
Well, I honestly don’t need an answer. Because there’s no right and wrong answer when it comes to visualizing a purpose in one’s work.
As per Harvard Business Review, Purpose can be defined as an overarching intention that is personally meaningful to you and of consequence to the world beyond yourself.
Both army officers and a businessman are equally working towards a country’s growth and upkeep. It’s unfair to say that one is making more impact than the other.
However, it all depends on the person who is in the shoes of the businessman and the army officer.
How do they perceive their work? Do they feel a sense of purpose and fulfillment in their work?
What Makes a Purpose a Reasonable Purpose?
The purpose of one individual cannot be the same for 2 people.
A person hustling to earn a living for the family is serving a purpose and a person working for a NGO on weekends is equally working towards a meaningful goal in life. Even a person founding a renewable energy startup and a person struggling in a sales job to acquire money and move out of a rental house is a clear example of a meaningful life, attached with a purpose.
So evidently, your purpose in life or at your current job may not be the same as mine. More importantly, when one attaches a purpose to their work or life they experience;
- A sense of belonging,
- A sense of commitment,
- A sense of loyalty,
- And, the sense of going above and beyond to achieve it.
When employees find a sense of purpose at work and how it connects to the company’s purpose, they are nearly 3X more likely to feel fulfilled at work.- Mckinsey
Hence, do not compare or measure the intensity of your level of purpose with others.
How to Identify Sense of Purpose in Life and in your Job?
Now that we have cleared the check point to identify our state of life, here’s the next simple step.
- If you are already serving a purpose or leading a purposeful life that gives you a sense of satisfaction beyond earning money, then you are doing fine and you wouldn’t be irritable for a long time.
- If you just found out that you were only making money and climbing the ladder in the never-ending rat race, it is time to identify a sense of purpose and work towards it. And do it before you find yourself unhappy.
Did you know, the HBR reveals that one estimate suggests that only a fifth of young people have a clear idea of their purpose.
Hence, my purpose of writing this article is to change the way you think about your current job and connect it to a sense of purpose.
3 ways to find your true purpose in life
1. The 5-Minute Method
Sometimes the answers are in the back of the mind but we aren’t able to spill them out loud.
Adam Leipzig, a movie producer, executive and distributor for more than 25 years offered a very simple yet 5 minutes technique to identify purpose in your current work life.
In his Ted Talk, he runs through 5 simple questions:
- Who are you?- Spill out your name.
Example: Tina
- What do you do?- What are you good at? What are you most qualified for right now? And you can teach other people.
Example: I teach
- Who do you do it for?- Find out who is benefitting from that work.
Example: Young school kids
- What do these people need? Why do these people come to you? What is exactly that they are looking for when they come to you?
Example: Learn and explore
- And how do they change as a result of your work?- What is the benefit or outcome these people get with your contribution?
Example: Successful careers
As per this analysis, he mentions that in the process you identify that you are just 2 parts in this process, the other 3 is about the people you serve.
In order to grow and be successful, focus on others, not yourself. “Even happier people try to make others happy and that makes two of them happy.” – Adam Leipzig
So, here are my 2 cents–See your work in a new light. Find purpose in your existing job and if not, think harder and step into a similar role that smells purpose from all directions.
2. Find your Ikigai
I like the comprehensive explanation by Jessica Dowches, an integrative Wellness + Lifestyle Medicine Coach and Keynote Speaker, on finding your Ikigai.
There are 4 areas that you need to identify:
- What do you love to do?
- What does the world need, specifically from you?
- Identify your talents and experience
- What can you get paid for?
Once you answer these questions you’ll start joining the dots. You will find a relation between them and then one day you are bound to land your Eureka moment.
She also mentions that this process doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time and patience to go through the journey.
A few recommendations that I can offer;
- Perform this process in a journal, not in your mind. The more you start mapping it in a notebook or a journal, the clearer it gets.
- Start with ruling out options and choices. The rule out method is easier than shortlisting choices.
- Take advice from people but not too many. In the process, avoid people who might give a biased opinion. Choose people in your professional community rather than family & friends.
- Take time but not too much to figure this out. Some things can be learned in the process, once you start execution.
To give you an example, imagine you are an art and craft teacher by profession. You get paid for teaching kids in a private school. You have always been keen on helping senior citizens in some way. You are aware senior citizens need company and a little help at their age. Keeping them engaged is a fine way to help them. Now you need to think on how you can bring all these together.
One simple way could be teaching art and craft to old chaps in an old age home over the weekend or in the evening. But there are plenty of other ways to put this together.
3. The Personal Purpose Technique
Clearly, the above 2 methods are great and have given results for many.
But I have a slightly different and more aggressive opinion on finding your purpose. And this is the method I followed in life.
- Introspect into your life and look for some personal crisis that changed your life upside down. For example, that hospitalization that you least expected, losing a family member to a disease, an incident that left you in a financial turmoil, or a relationship that robbed you of your mental sanity.
- These losses are personal and extremely emotional to you. Naturally, the urge to work towards fixing them for yourself or your loved ones becomes a hidden desire.
- This strong desire can do wonders for you. It not only changes you as a person but pushes you to find a solution.
- Fix for yourself: First thing to note here is how you deal with these crisis situations. How did you transform yourself? List areas that you can change in your life.
- Fix for others: Moreover, fixing the crisis for yourself will not be the final goal. Your purpose will make sense when you find a solution that changes the life of people going through similar circumstances. So, find a way to implement your success story in others’ lives. Do it either in your present job or find a job/business/part-time activity that helps you in achieving your goal.
For Example: I changed my lifestyle, food habits, relationships and choices after my hospitalization. That incident shook me to the core and made me the better and healthier version of me that I am today. But I decided not to limit the transition to myself. I decided to turn into The Positive Storyteller and touch more adults in their 20s who neglect their physical and mental health.
How Should you Transition to a More Purposeful Work in Life?
Congratulations! Some of you might have struck gold and are partially closer to finding your purpose.
But wait! Did you think the switch is super simple?
If you are already serving a purpose higher than you and your needs, you don’t need to read this. But for others, the transition to a more purposeful life is tough, it needs courage and a lot of pep talk.
Here are a few tips to make it easier for you.
- List your fears and deal with them
If you aren’t fearing change, then either you are a monk or you are not human(You could be a bot too. LOL)
Let’s see what fear sounds like.
- How will I earn the same money?
- What will I tell my parents?
- Will I sustain? Or will I fail?
Fearing this change is normal and what you read earlier are common questions that cross your mind during this new transition in life. But trust me, when you list them down, you will identify there are solutions to each of them. Some will turn up immediately, while some solutions will turn up gradually but they do.
So here are a few solutions which I could think of:
- How will I earn the same money?– Save now and plan ahead.
- What will I tell my parents?– Create a plan and be ready with all the potential questions…Maybe rehearse with a friend.
- Will I sustain? Or will I fail?– Your consistency and time can tell.
- List your support system
Don’t treat this as a weakness.
Relying on someone for your emotional and financial needs for sometime will not change your relationship. List down a few people in your life who can support you in this transition. It could be your parents, your partner, a sibling, or friend/s.
Be honest and transparent to them. And give yourself a timeline by when you want to be independent again.
- Find a common ground between your current job and the purpose.
The plan we spoke about above doesn’t need to be drastically different from where you are. Try to find commonalities and work around that.
Your current job is the closest factor you can think of. If you are good at something, make use of it in your new plan.
- Make your purpose your side hustle
At the beginning, I will recommend you not to leave the work making you money.
Because when you start the purposeful journey, you may identify that this is not what you wanted to do…there could be a better avenue that struck you.
Hence, I will recommend keeping the safety cushion while you side hustle to build that meaningful dream of yours.
- Visualize a goal in the next 1 year
Trust me, be goal-oriented.
Goals help us stay on track and measure the effectiveness of our work.
Even if you are doing volunteer work, attach a goal to it. Your goal will keep you on your toes and won’t let you give up easily.
- Find a way to generate revenue
It is highly recommended that your purpose doesn’t need to come for free. If you serve the army or navy in your country, you get paid. If you are a doctor saving lives, you get paid. In short, your purposeful plan doesn’t need to let go of money. Rather, money will help you sustain and serve longer.
- Take care of yourself
In building that new dream don’t neglect your health.
Workout, eat well, sleep, stay hydrated, and meditate to keep yourself in check.
It is not possible to achieve any success without a fully functional mind and body.
- Start and stay consistent
Anything you do in life starts with STARTING the job and ends at staying CONSISTENT.
Without a start you’d not find out what’s there for you..how many lives can you touch and change. And the fear of failing can only be dealt with by staying consistent until you have tried every possibility under the sun.
Why do you Need a Purpose in Life?
Nearly two-thirds of US-based employees we surveyed said that COVID-19 has caused them to reflect on their purpose in life. And nearly half said that they are reconsidering the kind of work they do because of the pandemic.- Mckinsey
The pandemic of 2020 was highly demotivating and devastated families and individuals. However, a lot of people found their purpose in life. The grieving individuals especially identified their life’s purpose as the motivating factor to uplift them in the time of crisis.
This is the biggest blessing a purposeful job or life can give you. It will help you look at a positive side of your life even on bad days. It will give you strength against setbacks and disappointments. You will turn into a resilient human radiating with motivation and optimism.
Moreover, a purposeful job gives you a sense of autonomy in your life.
In the end, what you do today may not make you happy 10 years down the line. So start thinking of a purpose in life as early as you can and work towards making it a reality.