How to find your purpose in life
Kerwin Rae
Kerwin-rae-how-to-find-your-purpose

I believe your purpose in life is to find your purpose because when you do, it all falls into place.

You lose track of time and space, you feel fulfilled, and you feel a sense of peace and joy that’s almost indescribable.

It’s a common scenario, being in a job you hate but the money is too good to quit. 

I’ve been involved in a lot of businesses over the years (especially in my earlier years) where I was making millions, but I felt like there was this massive void inside me and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

It took me years to realise that I felt that way because I was doing things that weren’t aligned with my purpose, with my “why”. 

It sounds corny as hell, but your purpose in life isn’t to make money, it’s to find what makes you happy.

And your purpose doesn’t have to be super-altruistic. It could be “to make beautiful art” or “to build strong and safe homes” or “to help people feel amazing about themselves through hairdressing”.

But I am suggesting that a lot of us have a deeper meaning and purpose that we haven’t uncovered or touched on yet.

Happiness and purpose = success

Happiness isn’t an outcome, it’s not a destination, it’s not some kind of goal you reach when you’ve ticked all the right boxes.

After learning it the hard way and also interviewing a literal expert on happiness, I can tell you- it’s not out there, it’s within you.

What’s really interesting is some of the research we have on happiness. Toni Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness had this statistic, that people who are already happy are 78% more likely to experience success in business than people who are not.

I believe your purpose in life is to find your purpose because when you do, it all falls into place.

You lose track of time and space, you feel fulfilled, and you feel a sense of peace and joy that’s almost indescribable.

It’s a common scenario, being in a job you hate but the money is too good to quit. 

I’ve been involved in a lot of businesses over the years (especially in my earlier years) where I was making millions, but I felt like there was this massive void inside me and I couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

It took me years to realise that I felt that way because I was doing things that weren’t aligned with my purpose, with my “why”. 

It sounds corny as hell, but your purpose in life isn’t to make money, it’s to find what makes you happy.

And your purpose doesn’t have to be super-altruistic. It could be “to make beautiful art” or “to build strong and safe homes” or “to help people feel amazing about themselves through hairdressing”.

But I am suggesting that a lot of us have a deeper meaning and purpose that we haven’t uncovered or touched on yet.

Happiness and purpose = success

Happiness isn’t an outcome, it’s not a destination, it’s not some kind of goal you reach when you’ve ticked all the right boxes.

After learning it the hard way and also interviewing a literal expert on happiness, I can tell you- it’s not out there, it’s within you.

What’s really interesting is some of the research we have on happiness. Toni Hsieh’s book Delivering Happiness had this statistic, that people who are already happy are 78% more likely to experience success in business than people who are not.

To me, that says everything you need to know about success. Success is way more probable when you’re already in a place of fulfillment, doing things that fill you up with happiness, that you genuinely love doing. 

And that comes from finding your purpose, finding what you’re on this earth to do.

So naturally, at this stage, you’re gonna be thinking “how do I find my purpose?”

How to find your purpose

Well, I’m glad you asked.

1. What do you love to do?

Ask yourself, what is it that you love to do?

What do you read about? Think about? Talk about? What is it in your life that makes you lose track of time and space?

2. Be ready for the journey

You’re probably not just going to wake up and have some voice in your head that says “OK, your official purpose is XYZ..”

Knowing your purpose comes from experience. You won’t know your purpose until you see it and feel it, so why not go out and try as many things as possible?

Be open to new experiences, observe the world around you, and notice how you feel and what you gravitate towards.

3. Embrace challenge

I’ve studied countless self-made entrepreneurs over the years. Steve Jobs, Walt Disney, JK Rowling, Jerry Seinfeld.

If you look at their journeys, they all encountered some huge challenges- Oprah even got fired from one of her first journalism jobs.

Because when you’re pursuing something big and great, you need skills, knowledge, and experience. 

And the way you get those, is through challenging yourself.

And what happens when you’re in the pursuit of purpose? You experience life.

There’s an old saying, “if you aim for the stars and you miss, you’re still on top of the world”.

 

This process allows you to regulate your thoughts and emotions at a biophysical level.

Once you’ve worked yourself down from those big, heightened feelings, you can focus on responding in a more constructive way.

Emotional regulation is one of the most important skills you’ll ever learn and the reason a lot of adults don’t know how to is because we were never shown how as kids.

Children’s emotions are totally unregulated – they chuck tantrums and cry and scream like nobody’s business.

Instead of yelling “stop it“ and “go to your room”, try helping your kid to breathe with you, letting them know it’s ok and you’re there.

What happens is you’re creating a safe space for your kid to explore and express their emotions.
And you’re teaching them emotional regulation by showing them how.