“Life purpose is whatever path you decide on, for it is all free will.” ~Sanaya Roman, from Living with Joy
I find there is frequently confusion around the idea of finding your life purpose. It is often thought of as something you must do. The answer to your life purpose is actually much more joyful than that! It is true that certain conditions were set into place before you got here that would create a predisposition toward certain directions, likes and dislikes and life experiences that shape who you are. There were certain lessons you wanted to learn and primary emotions you wanted to explore. But once here, you have the free will to decide on your life from moment to moment. You are completely at choice.
Chasing after your purpose and trying to “figure it out” offers up resistance and can keep it away from you. The answer to your life purpose lies within you and it answers the simple question: “What brings me joy?” Most of us aren’t taught that. Society holds certain values and images of what is admired. In first choosing a direction in life many get influenced by mass consciousness or by thinking they need to please the people who are closest to them. There are certain benchmarks held up by society indicate “success”. These thoughts are all traps that people fall into and then they realize that they just don’t feel good. Something seems missing–even if the usual external markers of success have been achieved. The good news is, you can always course correct! It’s never too late!
Course Correction: 
- Begin by asking yourself the question of your highest excitement and joy. What lights a fire in your belly?
- Take action! Start exploring things that you enjoy doing, or even think you might enjoy. Take a class, volunteer, join a meet-up group, carve out time for writing that book, article or blog. Go hiking, join a birdwatching group. You get the idea. Do this with a sense of fun and curiosity. Your ego will come up with all the reasons why you can’t–not enough time, money, energy, etc. Do it anyway and you’ll find you do have the time and everything else you need. Just like samples at the grocery store, you can sample a variety of things and see how you feel.
- Take a day to do exactly what you want to do all day. Be around the people you want to be with, say “no” when you want to and “yes” when you want to . Check in with yourself every hour to see if you are feeling the way you want to feel–whether that be inner peace, happiness, excitement, joy–whatever you determine you want.
- Imagine society didn’t exist or had different values and imagine there was no one who would either loose or gain from your choices (i.e. family that may not want you to leave, are afraid for your financial success or status). Would you love what you are doing? How would your choices change or stay the same?
Playing with these suggestions can allow your life purpose to come to you, rather than you feeling like you need to “find” it.
