ideapod.comOct 12, 2023 4:00 PM
Finding your purpose in life isn’t always straightforward or easy.
But once it happens a number of things will change in your daily life and signs will show up that tell you you’re on the right track.
The more you see the following signs show up in your life, you’ve found your purpose and your life is aligned with your mission.
Watch out for these telltale signs that you’ve found your purpose in life and should continue in the path you’re on.
Let’s dive in.
1) You work in a field you love
The first key indicator that you’ve found your purpose is that you’re in a job you love. It doesn’t have to be glamorous or high-paying, but it’s a job where you lose track of time.
You’re not watching the clock or counting the minutes. You’re living in the present working your hardest.
You’re good at the work and it uses your talents.
And you love it.
2) You’re not just focused on material things
There’s nothing wrong with caring about material success. In fact I’d say that it’s a necessity for most of us who aren’t born ultra-wealthy, and even those who are still have to pay attention to their health and other material considerations.
That said, when you’ve found your purpose, your own benefit and material success is no longer your only concern: You’re equally focused on a true love and passion for what you’re doing in your work and in your broader life.
3) Your happiness is not dependent on your love life
Everybody I know is affected by their love life. But not everyone is equally affected. Those who reach a certain level of maturity and stability in their life are no longer tied to huge highs and disastrous lows based on how their relationships or singlehood is going.
When you’ve found your purpose in life, your experiences being single or being with someone are no longer as dominant as they once were.
You care, absolutely.
But even big disappointments and successes no longer have full sway over your emotions. You have things to do. You have a mission. You’re living your purpose.
No amount of personal setbacks changes that, even if it can slow you down or make you sad.
4) You surround yourself with empowering people
When you’ve found your purpose (or are on the way to finding it) the people around you also shift. While none of us can control who we go to school with growing up or who we’re related to, we gain more and more choice about who we let in our inner circle as we get older.
When you’ve found your purpose, you naturally gravitate more towards others who are also leading purpose-driven lives.
You find that highly toxic or doom-minded people just tire you out, and while we all have moments of negativity and doubt, you generally prefer to be around those who are looking forward instead of looking back.
5) You truly respect and love yourself in a non-narcissistic way
When you find your purpose and what you truly love to do in life, a lot of the insecurity and doubts of the past about your worth start to fade away.
You see your flaws, your mistakes and your shortcomings, but they no longer dominate the narrative:
That’s because you also see your strong characteristics and the strength of your heart. You may not be there yet, but you’re trying and you’re on your way. You love yourself despite your flaws and you’re proud of yourself without being vain.
6) You don’t shift your core values or beliefs regardless of the pressure
When you’re floating along just doing your best and not quite sure where you’re heading, almost any direction seems OK.
One minute you believe this thing, and the next you might believe something else. You don’t shift around your core beliefs regardless of pressure or what happens to be popular at the moment. You don’t change what you believe because you just met a gorgeous woman or a hot guy.
You don’t repeat what the boss is saying because you think it’ll get you a promotion. You’re clear on your goals and where you’re trying to head in life. Other people can jump on from the ride or you’re fine continuing on alone. You’re fine with hearing others out and you respect their beliefs, but you’re not going to be dependent on that. Either way, you’re not shifting your core principles to try to please others.
7) You learn from your mistakes and find value in them
If and when you do make big mistakes in your life, you learn from them.
Problems and obstacles that used to feel like the universe conspiring against you now can be seen for what they really are:
Just a part of life.
It’s how you react to them which is where your power lies.
You try to learn from your mistakes if there was something you could have done differently. If the problems occurred outside of your control, you do your best to find value in them such as increasing your patience or determination.
8) You take criticism in stride and are open to constructive criticism When you’ve found your purpose in life, you’re on a much more solid foundation than previously. Outside criticism doesn’t faze you the way it once did. You take it in stride and keep right on going. It’s just criticism, it won’t kill you.
And if some of the criticism is true? All the better: it’s free advice you can use to better yourself and your skills.
Career consultants and life coaches charge a hefty fee and here’s somebody giving you detailed feedback for free? Jackpot!
The ultimate sign you’ve found your purpose
The ultimate sign you’ve found your purpose is that you no longer need to ask.
In some deep and primordial way you just know it:
You’re doing what you were made to do
By God, the universe, evolution, fate, the forces of creation, whatever you want to call it.
Something or some forces combined to put you here doing what you’re doing.
Despite all the trials and inadequacies in your life, you know that you have at least one major part of your life that’s deeply meaningful to you and which you are uniquely passionate about and suited for.
That’s an immense blessing that not everyone finds!
Love yourself first and everything else falls into place
It may sound conceited or narcissistic to focus on loving yourself first. But it’s not.
The point isn’t to believe you’re better than others or to accept things about yourself that you really do need to change.
It’s about developing a healthy and nurturing relationship with… you!
Loving yourself is about committing to who you are, understanding the many different nuances to your identity, and showing yourself a level of care and intimacy that we usually reserve for other people.
Unfortunately, we’re not taught how to love ourselves from an early age. And we end up caring about what others think of us rather than focusing on what we need at a more fundamental level.
This is why we partnered with Rudá Iandê to produce a free masterclass on transforming our relationships through the practice of self-love.
It’s currently playing on The Vessel (one of our partners) but only for a limited time. Thousands have attended and told us that the masterclass has completely transformed their relationships for the better.
It’s a must-watch and we couldn’t recommend it more highly.
Finding your purpose in life isn’t always straightforward or easy.
But once it happens a number of things will change in your daily life and signs will show up that tell you you’re on the right track.
The more you see the following signs show up in your life, you’ve found your purpose and your life is aligned with your mission.
Watch out for these telltale signs that you’ve found your purpose in life and should continue in the path you’re on.
Let’s dive in.
1) You work in a field you love
The first key indicator that you’ve found your purpose is that you’re in a job you love. It doesn’t have to be glamorous or high-paying, but it’s a job where you lose track of time.
You’re not watching the clock or counting the minutes. You’re living in the present working your hardest.
You’re good at the work and it uses your talents.
And you love it.
2) You’re not just focused on material things
There’s nothing wrong with caring about material success. In fact I’d say that it’s a necessity for most of us who aren’t born ultra-wealthy, and even those who are still have to pay attention to their health and other material considerations.
That said, when you’ve found your purpose, your own benefit and material success is no longer your only concern: You’re equally focused on a true love and passion for what you’re doing in your work and in your broader life.
3) Your happiness is not dependent on your love life
Everybody I know is affected by their love life. But not everyone is equally affected. Those who reach a certain level of maturity and stability in their life are no longer tied to huge highs and disastrous lows based on how their relationships or singlehood is going.
When you’ve found your purpose in life, your experiences being single or being with someone are no longer as dominant as they once were.
You care, absolutely.
But even big disappointments and successes no longer have full sway over your emotions. You have things to do. You have a mission. You’re living your purpose.
No amount of personal setbacks changes that, even if it can slow you down or make you sad.
4) You surround yourself with empowering people
When you’ve found your purpose (or are on the way to finding it) the people around you also shift. While none of us can control who we go to school with growing up or who we’re related to, we gain more and more choice about who we let in our inner circle as we get older.
When you’ve found your purpose, you naturally gravitate more towards others who are also leading purpose-driven lives.
You find that highly toxic or doom-minded people just tire you out, and while we all have moments of negativity and doubt, you generally prefer to be around those who are looking forward instead of looking back.
5) You truly respect and love yourself in a non-narcissistic way
When you find your purpose and what you truly love to do in life, a lot of the insecurity and doubts of the past about your worth start to fade away.
You see your flaws, your mistakes and your shortcomings, but they no longer dominate the narrative:
That’s because you also see your strong characteristics and the strength of your heart. You may not be there yet, but you’re trying and you’re on your way. You love yourself despite your flaws and you’re proud of yourself without being vain.
6) You don’t shift your core values or beliefs regardless of the pressure
When you’re floating along just doing your best and not quite sure where you’re heading, almost any direction seems OK.
One minute you believe this thing, and the next you might believe something else. You don’t shift around your core beliefs regardless of pressure or what happens to be popular at the moment. You don’t change what you believe because you just met a gorgeous woman or a hot guy.
You don’t repeat what the boss is saying because you think it’ll get you a promotion. You’re clear on your goals and where you’re trying to head in life. Other people can jump on from the ride or you’re fine continuing on alone. You’re fine with hearing others out and you respect their beliefs, but you’re not going to be dependent on that. Either way, you’re not shifting your core principles to try to please others.
7) You learn from your mistakes and find value in them
If and when you do make big mistakes in your life, you learn from them.
Problems and obstacles that used to feel like the universe conspiring against you now can be seen for what they really are:
Just a part of life.
It’s how you react to them which is where your power lies.
You try to learn from your mistakes if there was something you could have done differently. If the problems occurred outside of your control, you do your best to find value in them such as increasing your patience or determination.
8) You take criticism in stride and are open to constructive criticism When you’ve found your purpose in life, you’re on a much more solid foundation than previously. Outside criticism doesn’t faze you the way it once did. You take it in stride and keep right on going. It’s just criticism, it won’t kill you.
And if some of the criticism is true? All the better: it’s free advice you can use to better yourself and your skills.
Career consultants and life coaches charge a hefty fee and here’s somebody giving you detailed feedback for free? Jackpot!
The ultimate sign you’ve found your purpose
The ultimate sign you’ve found your purpose is that you no longer need to ask.
In some deep and primordial way you just know it:
You’re doing what you were made to do
By God, the universe, evolution, fate, the forces of creation, whatever you want to call it.
Something or some forces combined to put you here doing what you’re doing.
Despite all the trials and inadequacies in your life, you know that you have at least one major part of your life that’s deeply meaningful to you and which you are uniquely passionate about and suited for.
That’s an immense blessing that not everyone finds!
Love yourself first and everything else falls into place
It may sound conceited or narcissistic to focus on loving yourself first. But it’s not.
The point isn’t to believe you’re better than others or to accept things about yourself that you really do need to change.
It’s about developing a healthy and nurturing relationship with… you!
Loving yourself is about committing to who you are, understanding the many different nuances to your identity, and showing yourself a level of care and intimacy that we usually reserve for other people.
Unfortunately, we’re not taught how to love ourselves from an early age. And we end up caring about what others think of us rather than focusing on what we need at a more fundamental level.
This is why we partnered with Rudá Iandê to produce a free masterclass on transforming our relationships through the practice of self-love.
It’s currently playing on The Vessel (one of our partners) but only for a limited time. Thousands have attended and told us that the masterclass has completely transformed their relationships for the better.
It’s a must-watch and we couldn’t recommend it more highly.
