What are you here for?

By Ricardo Andorinho

For centuries, people have been struggling with the purpose of their existence.

Maybe you have wondered, you are wondering, or you will one day in the future, wonder what your purpose in life is, what your true north is, what gives your life meaning or simply what you are here for.

The truth is only some of us are living a life of purpose and these people are easily identifiable.

Just think about a particular person, past or present, who has achieved great things... Now, consider what is behind such accomplishments? Don’t you recognize passion and love as his or her drivers? Once you identify such emotions you will probably find out that they were aroused by a compelling purpose.

Not an easy task

Finding your life meaning is often tougher than it might sound. Chances are that you are always busy with your professional life, that you don't have time to stop and think about what your purpose might be, or actually what you want to do with your life.

So, we are here to ask you now: why do you do it? Why do you have that particular job or activity that takes up most of your time? Is there some part of it that you absolutely live for?

Professionally speaking, are you doing your job because you are passionate about it, or are you doing it because of the money?

If you find something in the job that keeps you coming back, day after day, that is probably your purpose. From there, can you identify your gifts and passions? Can you identify how you can serve others, how you can add value, how you can provide solutions to the problems of others?

Once you are able to discover your gifts and passions, your values and roles will be the way through which you express them; or in other words, how you operate daily will reflect those gifts and passions. That is why people who are living a life of purpose are easily identifiable!

Some guidelines

Here are some tips to assist you in living a life of purpose:

1) Imagine you are at your funeral and ask yourself how you would like to be remembered.

2) Write down how you want your parents, your siblings, your co-workers, your friends, your spouse and children to remember you.

3) List what you consider to be the three or four priorities in your life.

4) List the most important relationships in your life.

5) For each priority and each relationship, write down a purpose statement, your current reality and your goals.

6) Think about how you would like to spend the week if you knew that you only had six months to live.

7) Take action!

Do yourself a favour: unlock your gifts and passions and start living a meaningful life!

Living a life of purpose is being in tune with who you really are. It is a spiritual or mystical experience that everyone should allow him or herself to live.