How to find your soul purpose
“What is my soul’s purpose?”
I remember the load of the question weighing on my chest— as I dragged myself to work, moving through the motions on a Monday morning.
All I knew back then was that my purpose was meant to be something different. At least not being trapped inside a job for 8 hours everyday, sacrificing my time and energy for a paycheck.
I wanted to wake up each day excited for what’s to come. I wanted to know how vibrant and exciting it feels to follow my heart’s desires instead of ‘shoulds.’ I wanted a life well lived.
Fast forward to 5 years from then, I have gotten to wade past the soul-imprisoning jobs and instead huddle closer the freedom that my soul desires. I’ve gotten to map out the stars of what makes my soul sparkle.
And although I may not be able to answer the existential question of why God puts us here, I’ve gotten to know what makes me stir with excitement and let it move me each day. I’ve gotten to taste the pure satisfaction of doing what I love for a living while inhaling the sweet smell of passion, which I believe is what people call soul purpose is.
And so I want to share with you, 4 golden nuggets of wisdom that I’ve discovered along this path, and through them, my hope is that you uncover what your divine soul purpose is too.
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Your purpose is not a title/achievement you earn, rather it is how you would live when you have achieved everything you have ever wanted
The reason why most people feel unalive is because we spend our whole lives waiting for “end” goals. We say that unless we get to those: whether it is a financial milestone, a marriage, a promotion etc., we won’t be happy. This means, we also won’t be living life fully in a way that makes us happy, do things that make us truly happy, thus, not fully living to our utmost potential.
But what if those “end” goals are actually just excuses for not fully living out your life (i.e. being on your purpose) now? What if those “end” goals are postponing you from living your joy/your purpose now?
The truth is, these “end” goals never end. You will achieve one thing and then another thing will pop up. There will always be something more to achieve.
However, most people spend their lives waiting until they have more (whether it is time/money/resources), to do what they really want— therefore pursue their purpose, which unfortunately some don’t discover until they retire.
To avoid this regret that most people only discover toward sunset hours of their lives, you can begin asking yourself:
if I were to retire now (I.e. never have to worry about money/“end” goals again), what is one thing I would wholeheartedly do?
And that one thing is your purpose.
2. Your purpose is not a rubric to follow, rather it is a music you choose to dance to
There is a notion in the western world that our soul purpose is like an agenda-based curriculum that you have to pursue in order to be successful. For instance, you may feel like according to your soul purpose, you are “supposed to” pursue xyz and only then you can make maximal money, fame etc.
While it is true that each of our soul has a unique purpose/path, I have come to realize that your soul purpose is not a checklist that you can merely tick off to be more accomplished, manifest maximal gains, and get ahead of others. You can spend all your life chasing maximal material+external gains, however, if you are trying to pursue your soul purpose simply to satisfy mind-based agenda, then it won’t be a pure purpose that feels most meaningful to you (your heart).
In my case, for example, I have a firm knowing deep down that my soul purpose is to be a channel— and benefit others through my teachings/ creative expressions.
However, receiving the delights of my soul requires surrendering the need to know exactly what the Universe/God has on the “agenda.” It requires surrendering the need to confine your creations to mental restrictions.
As for me, all I know is that I’m here to speak what’s on my heart and help others find solace in it. All I know is that I’m here to thread out the strings of intuition, insights, and ideas surfacing in my soul and through the very process itself, create a living through doing so.
In other words, I have to follow what’s on my heart, in this very moment without trying to grasp what’s going to arrive in the future through my mind.
And that process of following what's here NOW, without trying to reach out for a future moment is the act of following your soul purpose.
3. You can choose to be on your purpose even if you just exist
Similarly, another misconception in the western world is that your soul purpose is only meaningful when it is hefty, praise-worthy, and substantial. It says that you need to be constantly striving, achieving, “functioning” well in this society to be on your purpose.
While having big soul visions (such as to build charities,, to build multi-million business empire etc) are beautiful, believing that your purpose can only be attained when you achieve lofty goals prevents you from fully experience the joy+purpose of your day-to-day life.
The truth is, the feeling of being ‘on purpose’ is found in witnessing the beauty, awe, and wonder that is contained in life’s small, tranquil little moments. Your purpose can be felt in things as simple as watching a robin fluttering its colorofully-clad wings or a gentle rain spraying on wildflowers.
For it is in these little moments, that you find an even grander purpose—a purpose that is beyond you, is found. This is when you find that your purpose is connected to every being, every life form in this Universe. And your existence is simply enough, just as how any animal/plant in nature fulfills their purpose simply through their existence itself.
4. No amount of figuring out will help you find your purpose unless you tread on your purpose
As mentioned earlier, your purpose is not something that can be figured out by the mind, rather it is felt through your heart.
Finding your soul purpose is like how you can’t know how good it feels to jump into the crystalline blue water of the Bahamas unless you have experienced it yourself first.
It’s just like how you can’t know how good it feels to jump into the crystalline blue water of the Bahamas unless you have experienced it yourself first.
As for me, I didn’t know how absorbed I would get into my writings, until I pour out my heart’s feelings onto pen and paper first; I didn’t know the power of the wisdom that would flow through me, until I got into the act of channeling first. Only through tracing the tiny hints of bliss, I found my purpose that I can’t miss.
So to rapture your soul in similar ways, you can visualize as close your eyes for a moment, summoning a menu of life’s delicious things to try using your imagination. Look at what comes up and then dive into the activity headfirst.
You know it’s your purpose when you just want to come back to doing it for the rest of your life.
