What Am I Here For?

Purpose, Meaning & Direction

The Questions We Need to Ask — Conversation 2 of 14

“What is my purpose?”

It's one of those enormous questions.

And for some of us, it can become such a big question that we spend years waiting for an equally enormous answer.

We think purpose should arrive as a revelation.

A calling.

A career.

A mission.

A moment when everything suddenly makes sense and we finally understand exactly what we're supposed to do with our lives.

But what if we've made purpose too complicated?

What if purpose isn't something hiding somewhere in the future waiting for us to discover it?

What if part of our purpose is being revealed through the choices we're making today?

Before you read any further, sit with that.

PAUSE & REFLECT

What gives your life meaning right now?

Not what looks impressive.

Not what makes you appear successful.

Not what keeps you busy or productive.

What genuinely matters to you?

And then ask yourself:

Am I making enough room in my life for it?

Purpose and Profession Are Not the Same Thing

One of the easiest traps to fall into is believing that our purpose must somehow become our occupation.

Sometimes it does.

Often it doesn't.

Your career may provide income while your deepest contribution happens somewhere completely different.

You may find meaning in raising children.

Helping a neighbor.

Caring for animals.

Creating something.

Teaching.

Mentoring.

Growing food.

Volunteering.

Listening to someone who needs to be heard.

Sharing something you've learned through your own struggles.

Making people laugh.

Being the person who brings others together.

Purpose doesn't necessarily need a title.

And it certainly doesn't require an audience.

ASK YOURSELF:

If nobody applauded me for it, what would I still want to contribute?

That's an important question.

Because when we remove recognition, money, followers, status and approval from the equation, we sometimes get much closer to what genuinely matters to us.

Stop Waiting for the Lightning Bolt

Maybe you've said:

“I'm trying to find my purpose.”

But what does finding it actually mean?

Are we expecting one perfect answer?

One destination?

One calling that will define the rest of our lives?

Perhaps that's why so many people feel lost.

We're looking for certainty when life may be asking for participation.

Purpose may change as we change.

What mattered deeply to you at 25 may not be what matters at 45, 60 or 75.

Different seasons may call different things out of us.

So instead of asking only:

“What is my purpose?”

Try asking:

“What is life asking of me right now?”

That question brings purpose out of some distant future and puts it directly in front of us.

What Keeps Calling Your Attention?

There are things that repeatedly tug at us.

An idea.

A problem we want to help solve.

Something we want to create.

A place we want to go.

A conversation we know we need to have.

Something we want to learn.

A change we know we need to make.

A person we feel compelled to help.

A dream that keeps resurfacing no matter how many times we push it aside.

We dismiss these things for all kinds of reasons.

I don't have time.

I'm too old.

I'm too young.

I don't know enough.

Someone else is already doing it.

What if it doesn't work?

What will people think?

I'll do it someday.

And then someday quietly becomes another year.

YOUR TURN

What keeps calling your attention that you continue to dismiss?

Don't immediately decide whether it's practical.

Don't figure out the entire plan.

Just identify it.

What keeps coming back?

Sometimes direction begins there.

If You Knew Your Life Mattered...

Let's make this more personal.

Imagine for a moment that there was absolutely no question about your significance.

You knew—with complete certainty—that your life mattered.

That your presence mattered.

That something you could say, create, teach, offer, change or simply embody could positively affect another human being.

What would you do differently this week?

Would you finally make the call?

Would you start writing?

Would you apply?

Would you apologize?

Would you volunteer?

Would you create something?

Would you spend more time with someone you love?

Would you stop postponing something important?

Would you take better care of yourself because you'd finally recognize that you matter too?

Sometimes we don't need more purpose.

Sometimes we need to stop behaving as though our contribution doesn't count.

What Can You Give That Someone Else May Need?

This doesn't need to be grand.

You have lived a life nobody else has lived exactly the way you have.

You've learned things.

You've survived things.

You've developed skills.

You've made mistakes.

You've figured things out.

You've experienced joy and disappointment.

You've gained perspective.

And somewhere in all of that is something you can offer.

Maybe it's knowledge.

Maybe it's patience.

Maybe it's encouragement.

Maybe it's leadership.

Maybe it's creativity.

Maybe it's humor.

Maybe it's compassion.

Maybe it's simply the ability to sit beside another human being and say:

“I understand.”

So ask yourself:

What am I uniquely able to give that someone else may need?

Don't dismiss your answer because it seems ordinary to you.

Some of the things that come naturally to us are precisely the things another person desperately needs.

Whose Definition of Success Are You Chasing?

This question may sting a little.

Are you chasing success that actually belongs to someone else's definition of a good life?

We're surrounded by messages about what our lives should look like.

Earn more.

Own more.

Achieve more.

Travel more.

Look younger.

Stay busy.

Build the business.

Get the promotion.

Grow the following.

Buy the house.

Have the perfect relationship.

Keep achieving.

Keep proving.

Keep going.

But what if your definition of a meaningful life is different?

What if you want more time instead of more money?

What if success means freedom?

What if it means health?

What if it means meaningful relationships?

What if it means creating?

What if it means serving?

What if it means peace?

What if it means waking up and actually liking the life you've built?

PAUSE HERE

Finish this sentence without thinking about what anybody else would say:

A successful life, to me, means ____________________.

Now look at your current life.

Are your choices moving you toward that definition—or someone else's?

Purpose Isn't Always About Adding Something

Here's something we don't talk about enough.

Finding direction isn't always about discovering something new to do.

Sometimes direction comes from recognizing something that needs to end.

Maybe there's something you need to:

Begin.

Finish.

Change.

Release.

Read those four words again.

Which one grabbed you?

Don't overthink it.

There is probably a reason.

THE HARD QUESTION

What is one thing you already know you are meant to begin, finish, change or release?

Maybe you've known for months.

Maybe years.

Sometimes we ask for direction while ignoring the direction we've already received.

Your Purpose, Meaning & Direction Challenge

This week, don't try to solve the question:

“What am I supposed to do with my entire life?”

That's too much.

Instead, answer these:

1. What makes my life feel meaningful—and am I making enough room for it?

2. Am I waiting to discover my purpose instead of living purposefully today?

3. What keeps calling my attention that I continue to dismiss?

4. If I truly knew my life mattered, what would I do differently this week?

5. What am I uniquely able to give that someone else may need?

6. Am I pursuing my definition of success—or someone else's?

7. What would I still want to contribute if nobody applauded me for it?

8. What do I know I need to begin, finish, change or release?

Now choose one answer.

Not eight.

One.

And ask:

What is one small action I can take this week?

Make the call.

Write the first paragraph.

Research the idea.

Have the conversation.

Give an hour.

Say yes.

Say no.

Begin.

Finish.

Change.

Release.

Purpose doesn't always announce itself with fireworks.

Sometimes it quietly appears when we stop waiting for our lives to begin and intentionally participate in the life that's already happening.