When you were a kid, you wanted to get good grades. In high school, you desired admission to a good college. As a young adult, you sought a good job. However, as you grow up, you may lose your life’s purpose and don’t know what to do. Don’t worry; you’re not alone!
1. What Activities Excite You?
If doing something makes you lose track of time, it’s an activity you love. Revisit those moments because these activities reveal your passions and interests and give you a direction in life.
2. What Are Your Strengths?
Sit in a calm room and write down your strengths. These could be your communication skills, problem-solving abilities, or leadership qualities. Also, ponder the positive feedback you receive from others to know the areas where you excel.
3. What Are Your Weaknesses?
Similar to recognizing your strengths, it’s also crucial you know your weaknesses. Identify the areas where you struggle and note them down. Try to improve yourself in those areas for personal and professional growth.
4. How Do You Define Success?
Identifying what you mean by success can help you know what gives you fulfillment. It could be achieving your goals, positively impacting others’ lives, or earning money. Once you define your metric of success, start working towards it.
5. What Challenges Have You Overcome?
Identify the challenges you faced in life and the strategies you used to overcome them. These challenges are new experiences, and the techniques you use to overcome them are your strengths.
6. How Would You Spend Your Time if Money Didn’t Matter?
Consider you have unlimited money and envision how you would spend your time. By doing so, you’ll know your true passion and can work towards living a purposeful life.
7. What Motivates You?
Each person has a different motivating factor. Identify those factors because they are the driving forces behind your actions. Whether you want to make a difference in the world, increase wealth, or improve your personal life, understanding what motivates you is crucial.
8. What Are Your Natural Talents?
A lot of people have excellent skills within them that they don’t utilize. If you want to succeed in life, you need to know the areas where you excel, especially if you have that talent naturally. Ponder over the success you achieved to date and the challenges you overcame to identify your natural talents.
9. What Would You Do if You Had No Fear of Failure?
Consider there’s no failure, and imagine what you would do. It helps to find out your deepest desires and ambitions.
10. What Did You Enjoy Doing As a Child?
As an adult, you won’t get the same freedom to express yourself compared to when you were a child. Revisit your life as an 8-year-old and reflect on the activities you enjoyed the most. It could be reading, playing a specific sport, or drawing. Repeat those activities and check whether they bring you similar joy. Most likely, they will.
11. What Advice Would You Give to Your Younger Self?
Imagine speaking to your teenage self and offering guidance. What would you say? The advice you would give is likely what matters to you now and can guide you toward a purposeful life.
12. What Legacy Do You Want To Leave Behind?
Everyone wants to make a difference in this world and leave a legacy. But are all remembered? Obviously no. If you want to leave behind a legacy, it’s necessary to have strong values and create a positive impact on the world.
13. What Do You Like To Learn About?
If you want to succeed in life, it’s crucial to keep learning. Here’s a famous quote to support this:
“Never stop learning because life never stops teaching.”
Identify the areas that interest and motivate you to learn, and focus on them for personal and professional fulfillment.
14. What Do You Daydream About?
When you daydream, a set of thoughts frequently occupy your mind. Identify them because they often reveal your desires and passions.
15. What Advice Would You Give to a Large Group of People?
Imagine advising a large group of people. You would probably share something that’s the most important to you or has made a significant impact on your life. Identify that value and implement it in your day-to-day life.
The Final Word
Discovering your life purpose is deeply personal, and there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. These 15 questions can be a starting point for you to understand yourself better and lead your life with purpose and meaning.
If you asked these questions but still didn’t find a purpose in your life, don’t worry. There’s one more option. And that’s to consult with Ken D Foster, who has over 30 years of experience in personal and professional development. He can help you identify your areas of interest, define your vision, and accelerate your pace of success.
Ken is the man behind the success of hundreds of entrepreneurs, CEOs, and senior professionals in the U.S.
Ken D Foster is a best-selling author, transformational leader, business strategist, and producer of the Voices of Courage Show, syndicated in 185 countries.