Find Your Life Purpose
There has been a lot of talk lately about finding ones Life Purpose. Your life purpose is the thing that many “wise-men” and youtube gurus suggest you spend most of your time on. It is the one thing that you were put on Earth to do, above all other things. These men suggest devoting yourself to your purpose fully, using it to define who you are.
Are they right?
Partially…but in a few big ways, they could not be more wrong.
How to find your life purpose in 3 Not So Easy Steps.
I am not here to teach you to put yourself in a box. There are many people who have been trying to do that to you for ages (Including yourself.) I am here to give you options so that you can more fully express yourself and enjoy your full potential. Follow these steps and you will realize that you had more freedom than you ever dreamed.
Step 1 – Do as many different and strange things as possible.
The first thing you must know if you wish to find your Life Purpose is “What You Like” and “What You Are Good At.”
Now, I am sure that you already have a few ideas about what you like. But I would like you to ask yourself a few questions.
1. Have you done this thing you think you like before?
It sounds silly. But when you think about it, how many people really think that they would like to travel around the world, but have never gone on a trip that lasted over a weekend? How many people think that they would like to be a rock star, but have only every tried kareoke at the local bar?
In order for you to know if you like something, you must first Try It.
2. Could you see yourself doing this for years on end?
Sure, you might like the idea of being a Doctor. But are you willing to spend almost ten years in Medical School? Are you willing to sacrifice almost every part of your life, from social to financial, to achieve that goal?
Until you can answer these two questions, you really cannot know if you like something or not. So do as many things as many times as possible. Even things that you fear you may not like at all. You never know, after all.
Now I bet you think that I am about to tell you to devote yourself fully to the thing that you liked the most. And that is what most people would tell you as well. But we are nowhere near done yet. We need to look deeper.
Step 2 Find out WHY you like the things you do.
Lets say that you are the absolute best player on your high-school basketball team. You are certain that this is what you want to do for the rest of your life. Well let me ask you something. What is it about basketball that you really like?
Is it the cheering crowd? The high social status among your peers? Or is it the competition? Or maybe the thing you like best is the absolute freedom of expressing yourself physically on the court.
Now those are all very different reasons to like something. But the reason Why is the most important thing you can know! Once you know the Why, then the How becomes attainable.
Because this is real life. And there are a LOT of people who want to be basketball stars. But even if you are better than %98 of the other players out there, you still may never make it into the NBA. Or who knows, maybe you would have, but you blew out your ACL. Life is not a straight line. There are many obstacles that require you to go around.
Well, we better hope you fully know WHY you like basketball, because…
Step 3…
Once you know the reasons WHY you like the things you do, you will notice that The Same Reasons keep popping up over and over again. This will even be true for things that are drastically different from each other.
So you may like basketball, choir, and hanging out in a large group of friends. But the REASON you like those things may be that you like to perform in front of crowds. You are always the guy that tells the stories at parties that get huge laughs, or maybe you love getting the crowd to go wild when you dunk.
Or maybe you like math, woodworking and are obsessed with Zelda. Well, you might like to figure out puzzles. It gives you a deep sense of satisfaction when everything is put in it’s right place.
So, how do you decide on a “Life Purpose”? After all, there likely isn’t a job that involves woodworking while playing Zelda or singing while dunking a basketball.
Well, once you know the Three Things That You Like The Most…the three things that you seek out to make you happy…
THEN STEP 3 IS….
TO FIND A JOB THAT FULFILLS 2 OUT OF THOSE 3 THINGS.
That way, you will always have the majority of your top needs satisfied. You can make the last thing your hobby!
To use myself as an example, I most like to teach, to get up in front of a crowd, and to exercise. Those are the three things that I could not be happy without.
Now I am lucky to be a martial arts teacher, and I get to do all of those things on a daily basis. But martial arts is not the only thing that I could do, or that I have done.
Lets say I became a musician. I could then use my music to teach and impress my ideas about the world, and I could perform in front of crowds. BUT, that job would not involve exercise. SO, that would be my hobby. I may at that point join a boxing or MMA gym, and maybe enter competitions, because hey, I also like to compete.
Now lets say I became a successful MMA fighter. I would have my need to perform in front of a crowd and exercise satisfied, but not my need to teach. So, maybe I would valunteer to help out under privileged students in the meantime, and also start up my own gym in the future.
Of course, you do need to find a way to support yourself and achieve happiness. It’s hard to be happy with absolutely no money!
Here is the most important thing to know: Even if your dreams do not succeed, you can still be happy. Because you know the things that make you you, and you know that there are several different career paths out there that can lead you to happiness.
I hope you can see at this point that there is not one, but MANY different paths for you that can lead to happiness.
BECAUSE THERE ARE LIKELY SEVERAL JOBS OUT THERE THAT FULFILL AT LEAST 2 OF THE 3 THINGS YOU LIKE TO DO BEST IN THE WHOLE WORLD, ON A DAILY BASIS.
From the Modern Martial Artist, this has been David Christian, wishing you, happy training.
Books by David Christian of The Modern Martial Artist
Power of the Pros: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/power-of-the-pros/
Footwork Wins Fights: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/downloads/footwork-wins-fights/
Everything Boxing, Kickingboxing & MMA
Podcast: https://www.modernmartialartist.com/category/striking-thoughts/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/themodernmartialartist
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/modernmartialartist
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