Finding Your Purpose Through Self-Inquiry: 7 Essential Questions

The search for one’s purpose can be a daunting task, but with some direction and guidance it can be much easier. Asking and answering certain questions can help to steer your journey of self-discovery. Here are 7 questions to ask yourself that can help discover your purpose.

First, ask yourself “What would I like to be remembered for?”.Consider what you want to be remembered for in the future and use this to help shape the vision of your work. Further, ask yourself “What makes me passionate?”. When you identify your passions and connect them to your purpose, they can be powerful motivators and drivers of success. Along these lines, ask yourself “What motivates me?”. Certain tasks or activities that energize you may be indicative of a shared purpose.

Fourth, ask yourself “What do I love?”. When you tap into your loves, they can be leveraged as a guide in discerning your purpose. Fifth, ask yourself “What values do I believe in?”. Consider your core values. They often correspond to behavior, motives and purposes. This can help you to define your own values and discover how to ground your purpose in them.

Sixth, ask yourself “What goes well with my strengths?”. Identifying your strengths and “pairing” them with activities you enjoy can tempt you out of your comfort zone and can assist in clearly defining your purpose. Lastly, ask yourself “What makes me unique?”. Everyone is unique and uncovering your personal differences and advantages can help you gain insight on activities and pursuit of purpose.

While self-discovery is a journey that requires self-reflection and introspection, the 7 questions proposed in this essay offer a great starting point. Asking and engaging with these questions can provide the much needed guidance and direction to your quest of finding your purpose. The questions can help put your thoughts into focus and make more sense of yourself. Tap into your loves, passions, values and strengths. Canvas your experience and motivations. This is the foundation on which your unique and personal purpose will emerge.