Conduct a survey at your workplace, among friends, or within your family.
The majority will agree that having a personal goal is undeniably a positive character trait. However, not everyone can explain why having a goal is so important, and more importantly, how its absence affects one’s life. Let’s try to address this and outline practical steps to help find a personal goal.
The Importance of Finding a Purpose
Having a purpose gives life meaning, helps focus, and maintains motivation. When your decisions and actions align with your personal beliefs, many doubts disappear. Simply put, you know exactly why and where you’re going. This contributes to success in your career, helps build healthy relationships, and allows breakthroughs in personal hobbies. The search for a personal purpose begins with a deep analysis of your passions, values, strengths, and weaknesses. Facing the truth can be unsettling, especially if you realize you’ve been heading in the wrong direction for several years. Additionally, a personal purpose is rarely static. Over time, it evolves, grows, and sometimes changes into something barely recognizable, parallel to the growth of the person themselves. As you gain experience and understand the world better, your views gradually shift. Doors that once seemed open may close, and previously insurmountable obstacles may crumble. A person who finds their personal purpose instantly realizes their calling. Life becomes infused with a kind of drive. Motivation seems to appear out of nowhere, serving as an extra wing, pushing you forward despite challenges or setbacks. Moving with purpose acts as a filter, weeding out people who aren’t aligned with your path, while leaving only like-minded individuals beside you.
Personal Purpose and Self-Esteem
People with a personal purpose typically have high self-esteem, which helps them achieve success. Here, we see the positive feedback loop effect once again. Knowing what you’re doing and why, and achieving results, only reinforces your belief in the correctness of your path. Inevitably, you’ll compare yourself with those who wander aimlessly through life. In contrast, your determination will stand out as a clear advantage, especially if your purpose is noble and goes beyond typical “keeping up with the Joneses” aspirations. A worthy purpose elevates its bearer, but only if this relationship is genuine and long-term. However, there is a sneaky trap that can lead to arrogance. At some point, you may start thinking that anyone who doesn’t share your views is, if not an enemy, at least an obstacle or a useful tool. If you notice such thoughts, remember the saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Don’t let your purpose cloud your mind—remember that you are the author of your own life’s script.
Obstacles on the Path to Finding Purpose
The search for your true purpose is far from a leisurely walk or a joyful journey. It is always a challenging task, often involving confronting numerous obstacles. First and foremost, you need a reliable guide — self-awareness. During this journey, you will explore the furthest corners of your inner world and evaluate both your short-term and long-term desires. At this stage, it is crucial to separate your genuine values and aspirations from those imposed by others. When doubts arise, it’s worth pulling on that thread, and the ball will start to unravel, gradually leading you to the source of your purpose. This could be another person, an image influenced by a popular trend, or merely a “reflection in the mirror.”
Fear also serves as a powerful obstacle. Everyone fears failure, but there are two ways to respond to this. You can either remain paralyzed, adopt someone else’s purpose, and go with the flow, or you can ignite your own torch and step into the unknown. In both cases, the fear eventually subsides, but the outcomes are vastly different. In the first case, you become dependent on others and circumstances, while in the second, you fully control every step.
"He who has a 'why' to live can bear almost any 'how.'" — Friedrich Nietzsche
An overly ambitious goal may feel out of reach due to a lack of resources, which can deter you from pursuing it. However, a lack of money, time, connections, or skills are merely obstacles, not a final verdict. To cover a kilometer, you need to take about 1,000 steps. Similarly, a big goal can and should be broken down into smaller steps. Once you do this, you’ll realize that you already have the resources for the first few steps. This leaves you with a simple choice — act or continue to delay. Finally, external pressure can knock you off course, convincing you that your chosen goal isn’t worth the effort. Such criticism can come from anyone—friends, close family members, colleagues, and, of course, society, which tends to be conservative. In most cases, this happens without malice and often with good intentions — or so the well-meaning advisors believe. There’s no need to respond with aggression or by opposing their goals. Instead, take a look at the personal achievements of those offering their judgments. Chances are, their results are modest, and thus, not as authoritative.
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How to Find a Personal Purpose
Finding a purpose is not an abstraction or a mere mental exercise in solving a theoretical problem; it is the process of defining the direction in which your life will be aimed. This task should be approached with responsibility, and you need to be prepared for a potentially long journey. Here are five key steps to guide you.
Step 1: Reflection
Determine if you have a personal set of values, interests, and aspirations. If some components are missing, try to identify the things that have replaced them. Recognize what brings you true joy and makes you feel alive. This will be your compass, pointing the way. Move in that direction, adding what’s missing and removing any distractions.
Step 2: Exploration
Explore different areas of interest and potential opportunities that align with what you want to achieve. You can’t pursue everything at once or with equal intensity, so you’ll need to set priorities. Career growth, education, personal hobbies, building relationships — by focusing on one area, you are not abandoning the rest but instead determining your main goal or at least narrowing the scope of your search.
Step 3: Experiment
Once you’ve identified priority areas, take action immediately. Your initial plan will likely be rewritten multiple times. Failures are guaranteed. Some things will turn out to be less engaging than expected, while others may seem less important. It will take time for the blurry picture to become clearer. At this stage, you aren’t pursuing your goal yet; you’re just aiming.
Step 4: Review Progress
Regularly review your progress — this will help you understand what you’re missing and whether the chosen path still excites you. If you feel a loss of motivation, don’t settle for simply acknowledging it; search for the underlying cause. Celebrate the endeavors that succeed, and make sure to find time for well-earned rest—no one can run this race non-stop.
Step 5: Embrace the Process
Reaching a goal won’t be the finish line — it’s a lifelong journey. Once you achieve one thing, you’ll immediately shift your focus to something else. The key here is to follow through on what you start, ensuring you complete each task. Otherwise, dabbling in many things without commitment will lead to disappointment in all. Your goals and priorities will evolve, but it’s important to notice the difference. A natural cycle is gradual, a soft transformation that unfolds over years. If, however, your goals change radically and almost instantly, like shifting images in a kaleidoscope, there may be external influences at play.
