This month’s happiness theme is Identity & Purpose. I decided to link these because the “Who I am” and “Why I do what I do” questions are undoubtedly interconnected. Our strengths and interests as individuals help us shape our purpose and our life’s goals.
Identity- Who am I?
Ok. I realize this sounds like the quarter-life crisis question that Derek Zoolander once asked a reflection of himself in a puddle… but it is important to ask in your twenties if you want to set some standards for your future happiness.
What are my strengths?
What are my interests?
What makes me, me?
And how will I use my self-awareness to claim a happy present and future?
Purpose- The “Why” Behind Everything I Do
Unfortunately, you can’t just figure out your life’s purpose by gazing out knowingly over a Mediterranean sunset like they do in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Fortunately, despite the vague and overwhelming sound of a “life purpose”, there are a few very simple experiments that you can use to define it, and this month I’m going to break it down for you. To start, here are a few things your purpose is not:
A Job
A Spouse/Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Meeting someone else's expectations
When you know your purpose, you can begin to shape your career and relationships so that they align with your vision. Your purpose comes first. This means that you should figure it out BEFORE settling into a life without foundation. Still, most people I know are working their vision in reverse, obsessing over finding a job or a partner first, before they explore what truly makes them tick. This is exactly the type of thing that leads to a midlife crisis. Are you already married or a few years into a high paying job and without a clear purpose? Don’t freak out. Lucky for you, it’s never too late to explore your “why”. In fact, some of the best stories start that way. Just look at Eat, Pray, Love author, Elizabeth Gilbert, or one of my superstar inspirations, Danny Dover.
Now it’s time to start writing your story, with purpose. Over the next month, we’ll create personal mission statements, make lists and vision boards, and dig deep to find what it is that we were put on this earth to do.
Happiness lies in the moments when your visions for your life align with reality.
