15 Questions To Discover Your Life Purpose

a guy on top of mountains looking at other mountains in silhouette pondering how to discover his life purpose
Life Purpose & Career

15 Questions To Discover Your Life Purpose

Do you ever find yourself feeling unfulfilled or like you’re drifting through life without a clear sense of direction? If so, check out these 15 questions to discover your life purpose so you can step into your power and become who you were meant to become.

You’re not alone, trust me I’ve been there! Before I embarked on my journey as a mentor and course creator, I struggled with finding a sense of purpose and meaning in life. Even though I was successful in my corporate career, I felt like something was missing.

Contemplating the following questions can give you some insights on your life purpose.

1. What are your passions?

One of the keys to uncovering your life purpose is to identify what you’re passionate about.

  • What activities do you enjoy doing?
  • What gets you excited and energized?
  • Which are the topics that you enjoy learning about?
  • When do you feel like you are in your zone, your flow, what are you doing?

Take some time to think about these questions and make a list of your passions. Your life purpose is likely to be connected to something you’re deeply passionate about.

Related: Can’t find my passion in life

2. What are your values?

This is one of the most important questions out of all the 15 questions to discover your life purpose. Your values are the principles and beliefs that guide your life. They’re the things that you hold most dear and that you’re willing to fight for.

Your values are extremely important if you want to live a joyful life aligned with who you really are. The problem is that most often we take them for granted and we don’t even think about our values when making life choices.

Take some time to reflect on what’s most important to you.

  • What do you believe in?
  • What causes or issues matter to you?
  • Which are the most important values that you hold dear?

Here’s a list values to help you get started:

  • Truth
  • Freedom
  • Integrity
  • Respect
  • Connection
  • Compassion
  • Kindness
  • Family
  • Relationships
  • Loyalty

Your life purpose is likely to align with your values.

Our life choices need to be in line with our values. Otherwise, we would be making it impossible for ourselves to live a joyful life with a sense of inner peace and fulfillment.

Related: Living a life of purpose

3. What are your strengths?

a girl on a desk with her laptop and tablet and art designs trying out her skills to discover her life purpose and what she's passionate about

Everyone has unique strengths and talents. Knowing what you’re naturally good at is key to discover your life purpose.

Most people struggle to find their life purpose because it can come so natural to them, that they might overlook it. Your life purpose is not what you do, it’s about who you are. And knowing who you are and what you’re naturally good at can shed light on your bigger purpose in life.

List down your strengths and skills:

  • What are you naturally good at?
  • What skills do you have that come easily to you?
  • What are you doing when you lose track of time?

Your life purpose is likely to be connected to your strengths.

Related: What is Life Purpose Coaching?

4. What are your weaknesses?

While it’s important to focus on your strengths, it’s also important to be aware of your weaknesses. This gives you an idea of whether you need to learn some new skills to continue growing and developing yourself. Or perhaps it sheds light that you’re focusing on the wrong things in life and that you should focus more on developing your strengths.

  • What areas do you struggle with?
  • What are some of your limitations?

Being aware of your weaknesses can help you identify areas for growth and development. That way you become limitless and empower yourself to achieve your goals.

Related: Finding Purpose in Life After 50

5. What have been your most significant life experiences?

Everyone has their own story and life lessons. Think back over your life and identify the experiences that have had the most significant impact on you. These could be both positive and negative.

  • What did you learn from those experiences?
  • How did they shape you as a person?
  • What could you teach others from your personal experiences?
  • How could you be of service to others after growing from these experiences?

Your life purpose is likely to be connected to your life experiences while being in service of others. Whether you enjoy working with animals, taking care of the environment, cooking tasty meals, creating art, music, or the next big invention, you’re always being of service to others.

6. What would you do if you had unlimited resources?

The main common reasons why people get stuck when trying to discover their life purpose are:

  • Financial insecurity
  • Time constraints

    If you didn’t have to worry about money, time, or any other constraints:
  • What would you do?
  • What would you want to accomplish?
  • What kind of work would you be doing?

    Asking yourself these questions to discover your life purpose is important so you identify what you’re truly passionate about and what you want to achieve in life.

7. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

Many people hold themselves back from pursuing their dreams because they’re afraid of failure. Ask yourself:

  • What if you knew you couldn’t fail? What would you do?

    This question can help you identify what you really want to be spending your time on. Most importantly is to remind yourself that even if you did fail with the first few attempts, it’s okay to fail.

    Pick yourself up, learn from your mistakes, and bounce back better, wiser, and stronger. Ultimately, if you never quit, you won’t fail as one day you will succeed in your mission and achieve your goals.

Related: How To Overcome Fear Of Failure In Your Career 

8. What would make you feel like you’re not wasting your time?

You know that feeling when you feel like you’re wasting your life away and that you’re not doing what you should really be doing?

That’s because you’re not focusing on what you truly care about.

You’re surviving not living.

If you want to experience the fullness of life you need to start dedicating some time to work on what truly matters to you. That way you give meaning to your life and makes you feel fulfilled.

9. What makes you feel most alive?

a girl sitting on the floor in a forest on autumn leaves with her hands wide open as she throws leaves in the air, she looks up at them and smiles feeling alive

What gives you a sense of purpose and fulfillment?

This question can help you identify what you’re passionate about and what you want to pursue in life. If you spend your time doing things that make you feel depleted of energy, that’s a strong indicator that you need to re-assess your life choices.

When you start living in alignment with your life purpose, you feel driven, motivated, and inspired, filled with life force energy that makes you feel like you could move mountains.

10. What would you do if you only had a year left to live?

I would dare say that this is the toughest question out of all the 15 questions to discover your life purpose. Nonetheless, it can be very revealing.

  • If you only had a year left to live, what would you want to accomplish?
  • What would be most important to you?
  • What would you regret not doing?

I understand that the thought of failure and shame can be daunting. We all have these fears and emotions that hold us back from achieving our true purpose in life. But let me tell you this:

The only thing worse than failure is the regret of never even trying.

11. What do you love to learn about?

When it comes to discovering your life purpose, knowing what you love to learn about can be a huge help. By exploring your passions and interests, you can start to uncover the things that bring you joy and inspire you most.

This could be anything from travel, art, science, music, literature – anything that sparks curiosity within you.

By engaging in activities that you love, it can open up a world of possibilities and lead you down the path to your true calling. When you discover what lights you up and brings out your best self, it helps to shape who you are as an individual and ultimately guides you toward your purpose.

So take some time to answer these questions:

  • What topics or areas do you love to learn about?
  • What do you find yourself reading or researching in your free time?

Don’t be scared to explore the things you love learning about – it could help you find your life path and open up a whole new world of possibilities.

12. What problems do you want to solve?

Discovering what problems in the world you want to solve can help you discover your life purpose. Taking the time to reflect on social issues and how they affect people can help lead us towards our true life purpose.

By understanding which causes you are most passionate about, you can begin looking for ways to make an impact. Whether it’s advocating for change or volunteering with an organization working on those issues, taking action will bring you closer to realizing your own potential and making a difference in the world around you.

Think about the problems in the world that you’re most passionate about solving.

  • What issues do you want to address?
  • What do you want to change?

This question can help you identify the contribution you want to make to the world and your life purpose.

Related: Everyone has a purpose in life

13. What motivates you?

a flower arrangement next to a journal written on it "MAKE IT HAPPEN" with a pen on it and a mobile.

Knowing what motivates you is essential to finding and living your life purpose. It is the key that unlocks the door to a more meaningful, fulfilling existence.

When you know what drives you, it allows you to take action on things that are important to you and make progress towards achieving your goals.

Motivation can come from within or from external sources, such as family members, friends or mentors who inspire us. By understanding what motivates us on a deeper level we can set realistic expectations for ourselves and design strategies that will help us reach our full potential in life.

Ask yourself:

  • What drives you to take action and pursue your goals?
  • Is it a desire for success, a need to help others, or something else?

Understanding your motivators can help you identify your life purpose and what you want to achieve in life.

14. What do you want to be known for?

Reflecting on what I want to be known for has been an enlightening and empowering experience. I want to be remembered as a person who made a positive impact in the world, by inspiring others with my example of service and dedication.

My goal is to bring out the best in people – encouraging them to think bigger, dream bigger, and reach higher than they ever thought possible.

I believe that if we all strive toward this ideal together then we can create a better future for ourselves and our communities.

Above all else, I aspire to live life with purposeful intention; leaving behind a legacy of kindness, positivity, and love that will continue long after my time here on earth has ended.

Now it’s your turn.

Think about the qualities you want to be known for.

  • Do you want to be known for your kindness, your intelligence, your creativity?

This question can help you identify your values and the contribution you want to make to the world.

Related: How To Find Courage To Pursue Your Dreams

15. What brings you joy?

It can be difficult to know what brings you joy in life. We all have our own unique interests and passions, but sometimes it takes time to uncover them.

It’s important to take a step back and reflect on yourself, your experiences, and the things that make you happy.

Ask yourself questions like:

  • What activities or experiences do I enjoy?
  • When am I most content and fulfilled?
  • What kind of work or activities do I enjoy doing without any monetary rewards or external validation from others?

Answering these questions can help you identify your true passions and start pursuing them in life. Doing this will allow you to live a more fulfilling life by doing something that brings you joy.

Related: What Is A Basic Requirement For A Fulfilling Career Path?

You’ve answered the 15 Questions to Discover Your Life Purpose… Now What?!

Discovering your life purpose is a journey, not a destination. It takes time and effort to reflect on your passions, values, strengths, and experiences to uncover your life purpose.

However, asking yourself these 15 questions to discover your life purpose can help you gain clarity and direction in your life.

By identifying your life purpose, you can live a more fulfilling and meaningful life, and make a positive impact on the world.

And remember…your life purpose is not about monetary rewards or making other people proud.

It’s about you doing what you really want to be doing with your time, with your life. More than anything it’s about you being who you really are and living a life in alignment with what makes you truly joyful and fulfilled.

FAQs

What are the 15 questions to discover your life purpose?

Here are 15 questions to discover your life purpose:
1.What are your passions?
2.What are your values?
3.What are your strengths?
4.What are your weaknesses?
5.What have been your most significant life experiences?
6.What would you do if you had unlimited resources?
7.What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
8.What would make you feel like you’re not wasting your time?
9.What makes you feel most alive?
10.What would you do if you only had a year left to live?
11.What do you love to learn about?
12.What problems do you want to solve?
13.What motivates you?
14.What do you want to be known for?
15.What brings you joy?

What’s the difference between a career and a life purpose?

The main difference between a career and a life purpose is that a career is typically something you pursue in order to gain financial stability or recognition, whereas a life purpose is focused on finding meaning in what you do. A career may provide an income, but it doesn’t necessarily offer any sense of fulfillment. A life purpose gives us direction, clarity, meaning, and fulfillment.

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