Questions You Can Ask To Help You Discover Your Purpose

“Who am I?”

“Why am I here?”

“What is my purpose?”

The answers to these questions can be the key needed to unlock hope, joy, and zeal in our lives yet, so many of us wake up day in and day out, with no clarity about the meaning of our existence.

The motive of your existence existed from the very moment you were born. Your job is to seek and pursue that purpose. The timing and place of your birth, the experiences you went through, and your passions and gifts, are all pointing to the answer.

Here are some questions to ask yourself that can help you find your purpose in life.

What Would You Pursue If Money Wasn't A Factor?

Oftentimes people miss their purpose because they are focused on pursuing the path that offers the most financial stability. If you want to figure out your purpose, ask yourself what are some things you wouldn’t mind doing for free. Before you knew a specific career was “unstable” or “hard to get into”, what did you want to be?

Pinpointing this answer will get you closer to your purpose. For example, maybe you wanted to be an artist before the “starving artist” stereotype came to burst your bubble. This is a great place to dig deeper and ask yourself why you wanted to be an artist in the first place. Was it the idea of having a job that encouraged you to think outside of the box? Maybe it was the freedom to use your passion to inspire others.

Though the job you dreamed of when you were 12 may not be the exact thing you were purposed to do, it can help point you in the right direction.

What Are You Naturally Gifted At?

There are gifts that you have and may think is common, when in reality, they are not. The world-renowned recording artist, William McDowell, once talked about how we grew up hearing melodies in everything, even the washer machine. It wasn’t until he got older that he realized he had a special ear for music, more than the average person. This unusual gift pointed him to the purpose he walks in today.

Do not undermine the things you are naturally gifted at. Also, do not assume that gifts only refer to artistic abilities. Organization is a gift. So is delegation, leadership, speaking, intelligence, compassion, influence, and being able to envision something beyond what currently exists. These are all things that can easily get overlooked though they are valuable and not as common as you’d think.

Every gift you have is there for a reason and you are free to explore it. In fact, it is your obligation to explore every single gift that you have. Something marvelous or record-breaking may not come from every single one of them, but you will never know until you try it.

What Are People Always Telling You To Pursue?

There’s a saying that our flaws are like headlights on a car; everyone can see them but us. This can sometimes be true about our gifts too. Sometimes, other people usually have a better view of who we are than we do.

Don’t take other people’s opinion as law, but if you recognize multiple people saying the same thing, they could all be on to something. When you pray and ask God to reveal your purpose, do not underestimate the ways he can answer. It can very easily come from another person’s mouth.

Do you speak so much truth that people are always egging you to start a podcast or YouTube channel? Are you so great at breaking things down to help others understand that people always suggest you’d make a great teacher? Do people always compliment you on your voice and say you would make a great anchor? Again, these people could be on to something.

Take a deeper look into why they are saying what they are saying. This will help you to see yourself objectively and have a better sense of what value you can bring to the world.

What Are Some Issues Around You that You Wish You Can Solve?

What sets your soul on fire?

What angers or disturbs you?

What holes or breaks in the systems around you do you notice and want to change? The things you care deeply about will not be what the next person cares about. We all are created and wired to see the world differently, from different angles. That is a divine strategy from God himself.

He has given us each a unique, individual burden so that we can do something about it. That is the same burden he gave Martin Luther King, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison for example.

Maybe your burden is the broken education or health system.

Maybe it’s the misguided youth in your community.

When you recognize a need and you have the desire to fill it, that can point you to your purpose.

Finding your purpose is a journey. Don’t grow discouraged if you do not find it right away. Explore your passions, talents, and interest and without even realizing it, you’ll stumble upon it sooner or later.