It doesn’t matter if you’re fresh out of college or just 40—you might be at the point in your life where you don’t know exactly what you want to do. There’s no step-by-step guide that will map out how you can achieve your purpose in life, but there are certain questions that can help you achieve that mindset.
What do you want to be in five years?
It’s one of those questions that gets thrown around all the time, and that’s because it works. In reality, there’s no way for you to accurately and precisely depict where you will be in five years, but that doesn’t make the exercise meaningless at all. In fact, its value lies in that it allows you to approximate the skills that you will need in the next few years. It will help you make a choice as to what lifestyle you want to pursue, and focus on what you really want to do.
Can you write your personal manifesto?
The idea may sound absurd, but its value is unquestionable. It means making your own call to action. Making a personal manifesto requires a good deal of personal reflection. First, you should start by picking the relevant topics, whether it’s about “the hours you will spend for working” or “how to get fit and healthy”. Next, think about your principles: what are your beliefs that you personally stand by? Remember, lastly, to use only strong and affirmative language, like “I should” and “I will”.
Do you know someone whose footsteps you can follow?
If you know someone who you personally idolize, what you can do is to try to volunteer as their assistant or shadow them at their job. This way, you can get an idea of their lifestyle. You don’t have to commit to the idea of what your personal idols do, but it definitely would be much better to get a realistic view of what they’re doing day in and day out, to figure out if it’s for you.
Have you tried out different projects?
If you don’t know what you want to do with your life just yet, it wouldn’t hurt to try out different projects on the side. Try a little bit of the projects that you’ve always wanted to do. Eventually and most likely, you’ll land something that you truly feel passionate about and can do for the rest of your days.
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FURTHER RESOURCES: If you’d like to try a process to get deeper clarity on your life purpose, check out The Art of Reinvention. It’s a 5 step process to help you through a confusing period of career transition. It can be useful to do if you have been feeling lost about how to move forward with life. This is a step-by-step process that takes less than an hour to do, and could very well be a HUGE turning point for you, as it has been for many others.