“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
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“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” asked Alice.
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cheshire Cat.
“I don’t much are where —” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cheshire Cat.
“— so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation.Lewis Carol, Alice in Wonderland…….
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I love that quote from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. In fact, I have probably lived that quote far too many times in my life. Movement became the benchmark through which I gauged progress in my life – as long as I was moving forward, I was getting somewhere and making progress, or at least that is what I used to think.
Then I started learning about life purpose and how to find my life purpose – that quality or passion that I wanted to center my life around. That ‘thing’ that I wanted to build a career on, or spend time studying, or spend time doing. That ‘thing’ would make me feel like I was accomplishing something with my life and not just going somewhere; anywhere!
OK, so I’m not the only person that is seeking to identify their life’s purpose. Seems that there are a few other baby boomers, and Gen Y’ers that are currently searching to define their life’s purpose.
There are numerous techniques that people use to explore and identify their life’s purpose. Many techniques involve answering questions, like the one’s below.
10 Questions That Can Help You Discover Your Life’s Purpose:
source: florindasdesigns Flickr, Cretive Commons
- What do you love to do, whether in your spare time or at work?
- What parts of your present job or life activities do you thoroughly enjoy?
- What do you naturally do well?
- What are your ten greatest successes to date (in your eyes)?
- Is there a cause about which you feel passionate?
- What are the ten most important lessons you have learned in your life?
- Are there some issues or perceived problems that have occurred over and over again?
- What do you daydream about doing?
- Imagine you are writing your epitaph? What things do you want to be remembered for at the end of your life?
- What would you do if you know you could not fail? What would it take to achieve that?
There is another technique that I really enjoy using to identify topics that I am interested in, but that could be because I am more than just a little bit book obsessed. Try spending some time wandering around a large book store. What topics are attracting your attention? History? Architecture? Travel? Look for a pattern in what book topics attract your attention.
You can also look at the books you own. What topics have interested you enough that you have actually bought books about the topic – and spent time reading them?
And you can look at what magazines you subscribe to. What are the topics of the articles that caught your attention and you enjoyed reading?
Once you have all of this information collected, see what patterns you can identify, what topics keep popping up. These common interests and patterns will point towards your life’s purpose and will help you set life goals, help you design your lifestyle, or help you maneuver through a major life transition.
With your life’s purpose, a goal and a plan in hand, you can begin building your best life. Or at least that is what I plan on doing 
TTFN
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Tags: Ageless Explorers, baby boomer, Baby Boomers, life's purpose, lifestyle design, lifestyle plans, mindset, Retirement Coach, retirement coaching, Retirement Lifestyle Plan, transitions
August 12th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
[...] is working. There is one exercise in finding one’s life purpose described in a previous post, “Would You Tell Me Please, Which Way I Ought To Go From Here?” and another exercise [...]
August 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am
[...] was originally published on my other blog Ageless Explorer, on July 17th, 2009, under the title Would You Tell Me Please, Which Way I Ought To Go From Here [...]
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:14 pm
That’s a WONDERFUL hint about noticing what kind of books and magazines you own. I’m an architect by training but have never been interested in architecture books or magazines. I do have a ton of personal development and spiritual books though and I am moving my life more in that direction. Thank you for clarifying this aspect of my life!
September 3rd, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Hi Taz, Thank you for your comment. I must admit, I have a really difficult time trying to answer personal development questions about my likes and dislikes, and often find that I am drawn to topics and activities (including those related to jobs and careers) that don’t hold my attention for very long. Exploring the books and magazines that I already have and am naturally drawn to, has helped me focus on topics that have actually held my interest. Not surprisingly, these are also interested related to my life’s purpose. Hope you enjoy your journey into, and explorations of, personal development and spirituality!!
Anne