What is Your Purpose in Life?

One of the most difficult questions for me to answer on Quora is “How do I find my purpose in life?”

And, this is an oft-repeated question!

I wonder why I feel incapable of offering a solution to someone looking for his purpose in life?

Is it because I have myself been unable to find my purpose in life?

What do we mean by purpose of life?

Looking for meaning of the phrase “purpose in life” I have come to understand that we need a purpose to lead a meaningful life. A purpose in life gives direction, helps define goals, and influence our behavior.

If I look a little deeply into my life, I find that my purpose in life has been changing throughout my life. I have not had a constant purpose which could probably have given direction to my life.

For instance when I graduated my goal was to find a corporate job. I felt I would be happy working in an office. Sure enough I was! Then when I had my baby this purpose suddenly changed because I did not want to leave my baby and go out to work. So, being a full-time Mom became my life-I am still not sure if that was my purpose! But it happened and soon I was a mother of 2! Although being a mother was not my goal or ultimate objective in life, it was fun! I enjoyed my time with my kids, building a rapport, nurturing them to grow up and become independent individuals.

After my kids went to the university there was a vacuum, I was jobless! I had plenty of time on my hands with nothing to do! So, I picked up a job as a professional content writer in an IT company. I soon began to enjoy my work! I became a passionate writer and was recognized as a star writer in the organization. And, I began to think that probably this is what I was meant to be- A content writer!

After watching all those motivational videos on “inner calling” and “you are meant to achieve something special”, I concluded that writing was probably my inner calling and was happy to understand that I had finally discovered my “purpose in life.”

As life continued at a fast pace, I switched my roles of being a Team Lead writer in the organization to that of being a freelance writer. Things were going well! I was happy working for few clients in alignment with my purpose in life.

But with passage of time I realized that I was not as focused as motivational quotes and videos would have me believe of someone in pursuit of excellence and “purpose in life!”

I began to wonder why-I loved my work, I had written on a wide variety of topics that helped me increase my knowledge base by leaps and bounds, my clients were happy with my work. And, I had also self published my first book on Amazon.

So, had I reached my ultimate goal-my purpose in life was accomplished?

I still do not know!

If I look at my life today, I am more interested in simply having fun and making the most of life! Of course writing is an essential fun element!

I have reached a stage where:

I am not affected by judgement of others

I have nothing to prove to anyone

I don’t have the time or energy to judge or control the lives of others.

I am no more interested in purchasing unnecessary things.

I am only interested in doing things that make me happy.

And, I am left wondering-do I have any purpose in life? What am I doing with my life?

If I want to be an ace content writer who makes a lot of money, I should be out there marketing and promoting myself-but I am not motivated enough!

Ok, so I have donned several hats and fortunately been successful in most things I have done, but the fact is that I do not know my purpose in life! Does that mean that I am leading a “meaningless” life?

I have come to accept life as it comes with all its surprises and wonders. I have come to appreciate the little things in life and cherish them. I have learnt to be grateful for whatever I have, and I realize that I have eveything I need to be happy. I have understood the importance of relationships and decided to focus on strengthening my relationships!

And, all these aspects my life fun and exciting! I do not live a mechanized life working according to a strict schedule each day. I am happy that no two days are the same in my life!

I am excited to wake up each morning to see what the new day has to offer!

I enjoy watching the rising sun, birds soaring up in the sky, flowers of different colors blooming in my garden and so many other beautiful things around me!

So, does it actually matter that I do not have a purpose in life? That I am not chasing some goal that makes me oblivious to my surroundings?

What is exactly is life?

Life is something that each one of us percieves differently. We prioritize different things in life at different stages. And, our purpose in life keeps changing as our priorities in life do.

If we set one specific goal for our life and direct all our activities towards it, we will surely be successful in achieving that goal. But often what happens is that we get so focused in achieving our goal that we neglect all other things. For instance, these could be taking important relationships for granted while we are in pursuit of success and wealth.

While it is important to have a goal, a purpose in life but what we need to realize is that achieving that goal should not become our ultimate objective in life!

Simply because the true meaning in life does not lie in reaching your destination(goal) but enjoying the journey! Enjoying every little thing that life throws at you, learning and growing from your experiences!

Today at the time of the pandemic I have come to appreciate the worth of every little thing I have and realized how blessed I am! I think I have now come to conclude that probably my purpose in life is having fun and being happy!-Is it sufficient to make life meaningful?