3 Proven Ways to Discover What You Are Meant to Do
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” ~Rumi Is our fundamental human right to live our lives with a sense of meaning and purpo...
“Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” ~Rumi
Is our fundamental human right to live our lives with a sense of meaning and purpose and to do something we absolutely love to do.
Do you love what you do?
“You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously”, Steve Maraboli once said.
If you truly believe that – that you were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self – then everything you do today matters.
And instead of waiting for the right opportunity to come along, or wondering what might have been, you need to realize that you have everything you need to do this – right now.
Let’s look at what you have at your disposal that will allow you to discover what you were meant to do – and live the life you were meant to live.
1. Listen To Your Ache
Have you ever felt envious of someone else’s success? When you see someone getting paid to pursue their passions, does it stir something in you? Does it make you feel unsettled, or even frustrated?
Most of us have felt this way at some point in our lives.
Being jealous of what someone else has or what they have accomplished is a sign of something missing in our own life. Maybe you’re not living the life you dreamed of, not making the money you want, or simply not getting the credit you think you deserve.
Whatever it is, it’s important to listen to this feeling, and most importantly – to channel it.
Your ache can help you discover what you are meant to do.
All dreams begin with a sense of frustration and unrest. If we choose to ignore them, it starts to ache. When you begin to recognize that ache for what it is – pent-up passion with nowhere to go – you can start to take action and do something constructive with it.
“Stir up the dream that’s been burning in you. Don’t settle for mediocrity when you have greatness in you.” – Joel Osteen
There is no such thing as “long lost dreams”.
Unfulfilled dreams don’t actually die. They fester.
Listen to what makes your heart ache.
When you’re feeling unsettled or frustrated, remember it’s a sign of what is missing in your own life.
2. Look Backwards
I recently ran into an old friend who left his dream of playing music to join the high-stakes world of finance. He spent 15 years working long hours, crafting his skill and working his way up the corporate ladder. After a health scare forced him to reflect back on his life, he decided to make a change. Today he teaches kids to play music, leads the youth worship ministry at his church, and offers his talents to a non-profit focused on community outreach.
He had always known that music was his life. He only needed to look backwards to see it.
What Jeff Goins says is true: “Dreaming is about looking backward and remembering what it is you have always loved to do”.
Most of us already know or at least have some idea what it is we were meant to do with our talents and abilities.
If you’re not satisfied with where you are, and you’re just not sure which way to go – look backwards.
Trust your heart to lead the way.
3. Recognize Your Untapped Potential
Each of us is unique. You have talents and abilities unlike anyone else in the world. And the potential that lies within you is limitless and largely untapped.
“The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems”, Mahatma Gandhi said.
Most of us have only skimmed the surface of what we’re capable of doing.
A whole new world opens up when we invest in our own capabilities.
In my own life, when I started investing time and energy into writing, I began to discover limitless opportunities that I didn’t even know existed. I’ve met people from other walks of life, shared ideas with people I never would have met, and cultivated friendships with people on the other side of the world. All from cultivating a skill I had practically forgotten about.
“Becoming capable of greater courage and greater persistence”, Firinn Taisdeal wrote, “can radically transform your life for the better”.
It’s absolutely true. When you begin to recognize your untapped potential and develop your own personal power – your capabilities – anything can happen.
Takeaways
It is our fundamental human right to live our lives with a sense of meaning and purpose and to do something we absolutely love to do. To live out your purpose, you’ll need courage and persistence.
You’ll need to:
- Listen to your ache. Let it fuel your passion.
- Look backwards. Embrace your past by using your talents and abilities to live a life fueled by your passions.
- Recognize and develop your untapped potential.