How to clarify your purpose — 6 practical tips you need to know
Ever asked yourself: What is my purpose?
It’s a big, deep question and if you’ve ever contemplated it, it can be difficult to answer.
When my clients express the desire to ‘find their purpose’, what they’re asking is how they can feel more fulfilled in their work and life. I’ll be unpacking this topic — and MORE — in this article…
Several years ago, I reached a point in my career where I began to wonder: What’s next?
After a decade in recruitment and 5 years running my business, I felt like something was missing. I was dreading Monday and living for the weekend.
And I realised — although I loved being my own boss and was making great money, I didn’t enjoy the work. In that moment, I knew I had to find something more rewarding and fulfilling.
For the first time ever, I considered what I wanted in my career — and what meaningful work looked like to me.
One of the biggest game changers was understanding my purpose. And if you’re feeling frustrated or unfulfilled in your career, this step is critical.
Read on to learn 6 practical tips to help clarify your purpose. You’ll discover what a life purpose is, why it’s important and how you can begin to define yours too.
WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?
Some people call it a north star, others a life purpose. Your purpose is at the heart of who you are as an individual, what you were born to do and the impact you want to have on the world.
It’s about living your life with intention and meaning. HOW you do that will change throughout the course of your lifetime.
Your purpose is the one constant in your life, even if you don’t know it’s there. Instead of trying to find it, the goal is to become aware of it.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Defining your purpose gives you clarity about what’s important. When you then use it to guide your choices and decisions, it gives your life greater meaning and a deep sense of fulfilment.
Your purpose is a pathway, not the final destination. When external influences or your own internal voice tries to take you off track, your purpose gives you a clear sense of direction and guides you back on course.
When you’re not living your purpose, your work lacks meaning and you feel like something’s missing. Even if your life looks ‘perfect’ from the outside and you’re highly successful in your career. When you’re on purpose, your life has intention and you’ll feel in harmony and flow.
After changing my career and business model to work that’s truly connected to my purpose, I’m energised, passionate about what I do and excited to go to work each day!
HOW DO YOU CLARIFY YOUR PURPOSE?
Understanding my purpose has helped inform my career decisions and led to greater fulfilment in my personal and professional life. Here are my top 6 tips to clarify your purpose:
TIP #1 — WHAT’S YOUR ‘WHY’?
Simon Sinek talks about thinking, acting and communicating from our ‘why’. Your ‘why’ is your purpose. It’s the reason you get out of bed every day and why you do what you do.
Why are some people more successful or able to achieve their goals?
Knowing what you want — a promotion, new job, career change or to start a business — is not enough.
You also need a compelling reason — your WHY — to back it up. And it needs to be more than money – because money is the result, not a ‘why’.
Science supports this theory. The neo-cortex is the part of our brain in charge of rational thoughts, not behaviour. Knowing what you want, setting a goal and rationalising it is not sufficient.
Your ‘why’ or purpose appeals to the limbic brain, which is responsible for emotions, decision-making and behaviour. Purpose drives your actions, impacting your results.
So ask yourself: What’s your ‘why’ — the purpose, cause or belief that drives you? And what’s the WHY to back up your what?
When you start with ‘why’, your purpose will be clear.
TIP #2 — SHIFT YOUR BELIEFS
A common misconception is your purpose is the ONE job you were born to do.
Your purpose is much deeper than that. It’s expressed across all areas of life — through the contribution you make to your work, your relationships and the world. In your career, your purpose is about combining your knowledge and experience with what you’re good at and love to do.
Eliminate the belief that you’re only here to do one thing. Gone are the days where we work for one employer for a lifetime or stay in the same profession our entire careers. With the pace of change, we’ll all be required to change careers multiple times in coming years.
Instead — be flexible to change. Keep exploring your interests, testing out new skills or career ideas. Because when you realise your purpose is not your job, you will start to become aware of it.
TIP #3 — JUST DO IT.
Prior to changing careers, I spent MONTHS thinking about what to do next. I also did endless hours of research trying to magically uncover my purpose.
But what created the shift I needed to understand my purpose and gain clarity on what to do next?
It was taking action! Because action shifts you out of analysis paralysis, overthinking and the fears holding you back.
I began working with a coach and conducting informational interviews to understand my career options. I also started a post-graduate and volunteered to test out new skills and interests. By paying attention to what resonated and continuing to move in this direction, my purpose soon emerged.
When you commit to taking action, you will uncover your purpose.
TIP #4 — ALIGN YOUR PURPOSE & VALUES
I believe in the importance of doing purposeful, meaningful work. But I struggled to connect with ‘creating a life purpose statement’ and some of the more abstract concepts I first learnt in my coach training. It was when I came across the idea of personal values that everything clicked!
My approach to identifying values is to look at your past behaviour. This gives you clues about your highest priorities — and what’s most important in your work and life. When you make decisions and take action in alignment with your values, you also fulfil your purpose.
Here’s an example. Freedom is one of my highest values, which to me means independence and personal choice. Being my own boss gives me complete control over my schedule and by honouring this value, I’ve built a career, business model and life completely aligned to my purpose.
So consider: What’s truly important to you? Pay attention to what resonates and keep following that path.
Also — if you’re experiencing any anger or frustration, consider what values you’re not honouring. It could be a sign you’re not following your purpose and what’s important to you.
And if you want to dive deeper into values, I invite you to check out this free audio training.
Because when you know your values, you will unlock more purpose and fulfillment in your career and life!
TIP #5 — GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD
Your purpose is part of WHO you intrinsically are — it’s not rational. To discover it, you need to step outside your rational mind and look deeper inside your heart.
Block out the external noise and ask yourself: What fills you with joy? And what does your heart say?
When you move out of your head and into your heart, you will clarify your purpose.
TIP #6 — SELF-REFLECT
Clarifying your purpose is an ongoing process, which requires plenty of time and reflection. Look back on your career and life to identify any underlying themes or patterns in your past actions and decisions.
Because purpose is such a huge, intangible idea, some questions I suggest you ask are: What impact do you want to make through your work? Or — what tasks, activities and interactions have impact and meaning to you?
Usually the response is some form of ‘making a difference’. Many of the lawyers I work with started their legal careers because they believe in fairness and justice for all people. For my HR clients, it’s about helping people reach their full potential.
Here’s the bottom-line. When you reflect on these questions, they will point you towards your purpose.
Knowing my purpose helped me shift my beliefs, make the right decisions and take aligned action. My purpose is to empower high-achievers to redefine success and create a career on their terms. Today I completely honour this by helping leaders redesign their current roles — or use their existing expertise to make a purposeful shift into a new career or more aligned work in their current companies and professions.
This is the power of knowing your purpose. It’s the reason I start here in the work I do with every coaching client – whether they’re transitioning their career or developing their existing one. I hope these tips assist you to find your ‘why’ too!
Need further support to figure out your purpose and what you want next professionally?
Hit play on this free guided audio and in 15 minutes, I’ll give you all the strategies you need to get started! Get instant access.
Stacey Back is a Career Strategist, Leadership Coach + Founder of Profile Careers. She helps high-achievers at a career crossroads find the work that lights them up, increase their income, impact and create a career + life on their terms. Stacey works virtually with individuals and organisations based across the globe.