How to Define Your Life Purpose

By Tristan Loo

Living a life of passion and significance requires knowing what your definite purpose in life is. Defining and living your life purpose gives you an overwhelming sense of fulfillment and meaning to your existence because it provides a way for you to use your values and passions and directs them towards a meaningful objective. Your life purpose is the essence of who you are as a person. Once you know what your purpose in life is, you will be able to wake up each morning knowing that every action that you take that day will move you one step closer towards your ultimate purpose in life.

Are you a Hero or a Zombie?

There are two basic types of people out there with respect to having a purpose in life: Heroes and Zombies. Heroes are those people who design their own lives, who are driven by a compelling purpose, and who are admired for their achievements in life. Zombies are those people who are doomed to wander aimlessly throughout their lives without any rhyme or reason for their actions. Whereas heroes enjoy the thrill of overcoming challenges in reaching their definite life purpose, zombies are merely putting in their time until they expire. When adversity blocks the path of a hero, the hero wages triumphant battle against it and continues on their path. When adversity blocks the path of a zombie, they turn and walk the other way. Which one are you?

Because Most of Us Aren't Born With a Destiny

We often read or hear about inspiring stories from religion or from history about unique individuals who seemed to have known what their destiny was the moment they were born and went on to accomplish great things in life. That's great, but I'm not one of them and I'm guessing that you're not either. For most of us, we have to discover our own destiny and unfortunately many of us don't discover this till very late in our lives, that is if we are lucky to at all. One of the first tasks in your adult life is to define what your life purpose is.

The Components of Life Purpose

Often people confuse their life purpose with their profession or their various roles in life (i.e. mother, father, husband, wife, etc.). While your profession or role can serve as the vehicle through which you can reach your life purpose, your professional title or role is not in and of itself your purpose in life. Knowing what your purpose in life is motivates you towards ultimate achievement and enables you to live a passionate life. Life purpose is made up of two important components: Core values and associated passions. To find your purpose, use the following formula listed below:

Core Values + Associated Passions = Purpose

Core values. These are the fundamentally beliefs, morals, and standards that define you as a person and which guide your behavior. While other aspects of your life change, your core set of values do not change. Core values are what you tell a person who asks you, "What do you stand for in your life?"

Associated Passions. Associated passions are the vehicles by which you can fully express and share your core values. They are the things that you love to do in life. They can also be specific talents, skills and abilities that you possess which fully express the associated value. They can also include things that you have never tried before, but have a desire to experience someday.

How to Define your Purpose in Life

To define your purpose in life you will need a sheet of paper and a pen. Draw a vertical line down the center of the paper so that you divide the sheet into two separate columns. On the left side you will list your values by writing, "I value my..." On the right hand side, you will list your associated passions by writing, "Through my love of..."

Step 1--List your values. List as many values as you can that describe you as a person. You should come up with at least 6-8 values that are applicable to your own life. The order of these values are not important at this point, just list as many as you can. These values should be limited to attributes of character such as strength, heroism, love, devotion, humor, etc.

Step 2--List your associated passions. In the right column, list a specific passion of yours that fully expresses the value listed on the left column. Passions are the things that you love to do in your life, irregardless of whether you actually have done them yet or not. Passions can also be the dreams that you envision for yourself later in life.

Step 3--Choose your core values. Now go back through your completed list and pick the top three values and associated passions that are the most important to you. While all of the values you listed define your life, these core values are the necessary principles that define your life and that you cannot live without.

Step 4--Design your mission statement. Take your core values and associated passions and place them into the following mission statement. The following statement is merely a template for you to follow:

"My purpose in life is to express my values of [ core values] through my love of [associated passions].

Feel free to play around with the wording until you get a result that you are happy with. Congratulations, you have defined your purpose in life. Now go live a life of passion.

© Copyright 2006 by Tristan Loo. All rights reserved.

For over 10 years, Tristan Loo has inspired, motivated, and brought success to the lives of the people he’s touched. Successful in his own right, Tristan has competed athletically against Olympians as a world-class gymnast, saved lives as a police officer, authored numerous Personal Development and Interpersonal Communication books and articles, and is a highly sought-after Personal Development Coach. Tristan is the founder of the Synergy Institute, a San Diego based Personal Development Firm. His philosophy of passionate living and helping others fulfill their dreams has continually been the driving force that has placed him well above the industry standard. Visit Tristan's website athttp://www.synergyinstituteonline.com or by email at info@synergyinstituteonline.com

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