Exercises for Defining Your Purpose

Questions for meditation/reflection

Find a quiet place and set aside some time to reflect on one or more of these questions. One approach is to start with just a couple of the questions that strike a chord with you, giving yourself plenty of time to observe whatever comes up in your mind. When you feel like it, just start writing down any thoughts that are leaving strong impressions. Write for as long as it takes to get it all out. Then let it sit for at least a day, and come back to the questions and what you have written and see if anything new comes up. If you feel like you're finished with meaningful responses to a question, go ahead and repeat the process with a new one, but periodically go back to earlier questions you liked to see if you want to make any additions or refinements. Consider these prompts:  

“What do I want my life to be about?”

“What do I want out of life?”

“If anything were possible, what would I like to see in my life?” [see yourself in the future having this in your life]

“What do I want to offer to the world?” 

“To live a life of flourishing, what am I willing to let go of?”

"Where is MY PATH? - The path with a heart?"

“What is it on this planet that needs doing that I know something about, that probably won’t happen unless I take responsibility for it?”

"What message do I want to be attached to my existence?"

“What is my Job on this planet, (with a capital J)?”

"What are my personal strengths, and how could I use them in ways that would bring me the greatest satisfaction?"

“How would I like to use my unique gifts or strengths to make the world a better place?”

“Envision your ‘ideal life’; a life of flourishing. What is this life like? Describe what you are doing in this vision of your ideal life.”

“How can I best give of myself, in this place, to these people, in this time?”

“What gift has been given to me, to carry to others?”

Dream/Vision List:

Think about what you want to see, do, experience, be, and have in the course of your life. Some of these may be in the next week or month; some may be more long-term items. List at least 20 things, then look for patterns. This isn't just a "bucket list" of adventurous activities, though it's fine to include those. Just imagine your "dream life" and how that would naturally play out over the course of many years. This will give you an idea of your higher order goals and serve as a start for defining your purpose.

Your Tombstone:

Start this exercise by drawing the outline of a tombstone on a sheet of paper, and writing your full name at the top. Below your name, write the words: "A person who...." Now let yourself imagine that you have just died, after a full life, having lived it exactly how you wanted to live. Your tombstone is being carved with a single sentence that captures what your life was about, and you have the power to choose those words. When you're ready, write the words that express the ideal vision of your life. 

A common variation of this exercise is to write your own eulogy. Imagine your funeral, where family, friends, and others whose lives were touched by you are gathered to celebrate your life. Imagine that a masterful Eulogist has surveyed all of these people to learn about their experiences with you, and has summarized these into 3 overarching themes. What do you want these 3 themes to be? Don't worry if these don't completely describe you right now; you will have the opportunity to make them true as you live and learn in the coming years. Consider how these themes can be incorporated into your life purpose.  

Three Pictures

Throughout the day, take three photos of things that you feel bring a sense of meaning to your life. These photos can be of anything that is meaningful to you or anything that represents something that is meaningful to you. Your job, your hobbies, your loved ones, your neighborhood, your morning routine; you name it. Anything that is important to you goes. Reflect on why these things are important to you. What do these three things say about who you are and what you want for your life? What do they tell you about your purpose?

Adapted from van Agteren et al., 2021.

Award Description

To help you better understand who you are and how you fit in the world, think about how you want to be remembered. Imagine that you are being given an award to recognise you as a human, and for all the good things you stand for. What would the award description say about your life, who you are and how you lived? Focus on the positive things you are known for; identifying your strengths and what you stand for is the important part here. Take five minutes to reflect, and write down what you would like your award, and the speech during the ceremony, to say.

Adapted from van Agteren et al., 2021.

Congratulatory Toast

Step 1: Write the names of four people whom you admire and appreciate and who have been important support figures in your life.

Step 2: Imagine that about 30 years into the future there is an event at which you are being recognized—maybe it’s an award ceremony or a significant birthday party. Now imagine that each of the people you named above are giving a toast to you. Fill in the blanks below with what you most hope they would say about you . . . 

Person A: “The quality that I have come to most admire about you is ____________________________. I have seen you time and time again live this out by _________________________________________ and in ____________________________________________.” 

Person B: “The thing I most respect about you is ______________________________________. It has had the greatest impact on me because when I see how you ___________________________________, it challenges and inspires me to _________________________________________________.” 

Person C: “This is what you mean to me. I have come to see that no matter what, you are ___________________________ and _______________________________. I will always remember when you _________________________________________. That helped me to see you as someone who ______________________________________________.” 

Person D: “I have to say a few words. I’ve been following you since _______________ and let me tell you about a couple of ways that I have seen you grow and develop: ________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________. I am most proud of the fact that you have ________________________________________________.” 

After having written your responses, stop for a moment and look back at what you have written and thought about during this exercise. What does it tell you about what is truly important to you?

Adapted from DePaul University (2022)

I am a Person Who

Consider any of the following: 

• Your social or cultural identities 

• What you know 

• The kinds of people you most prefer to work with 

• What you can do

• Your preferred working conditions or context 

• Your level of responsibility 

• Your likes and dislikes 

• Your preferred geographic location

• Your goals 

• Your sense of mission and purpose

 Complete the sentences in a way that allows you to reflect on various aspects of your identity.

Adapted from DePaul University (2022)

Life Vision (post-purpose statement)

Do you have a vision for what your life might look like five years in the future?  In your dream, where are you, what are you doing, and who are you with? Let the work you have done on your values, life-goals, and purpose guide your response to the question. Write as much or as little as you’d like.

Now let’s  think of a way to send this dream to yourself in a year. Perhaps send an email to yourself that will not be sent until a year’s time. Perhaps you can print out the dream and put it in a box that you will not open for a year.  Ask a loved one to hold on to it for a year, and give it back to you. Get as creative as you want.

Adapted from van Agteren et al., 2021.

Designing Your Own Tattoo

Think about the following questions:

“What do I want my life to be about?”

“What is most important to me?”

“What kind of person do I want to be?”

Next, design a tattoo that symbolizes who you are and what you want for your life. You can look online for ideas or design something completely your own! After you are finished, reflect on why this image embodies who you are and what you value and write down the things that you think about.

Adapted from Riches et al. (2020).

Vision Board

Much of our purpose has to do with our identity and our values. Think about some of your values, goals, dreams, or what makes you happy. If you have completed other purpose activities that have helped you gain a greater understanding of who you are and what you want for your life, include that in an overall vision of your life. Take images, words, or phrases from magazines, newspapers, or online and create a “vision board” as a physical representation of your purpose. You can use any material to make your board, whether it be tangible, like a corkboard, poster, or mask, or an online representation, like a presentation slide or an infographic. Think about why you include each picture on the board and how it relates to your overall purpose. When you’re finished, put the board somewhere where you can see it every day, reminding you to live in accordance with your purpose.

Here are some websites that may help you create your vision board:

-Canva

-Google Slides

Discovering Your Values

Defining your purpose will help you become more aware of those things that are most important to you. You can take this even further by learning more about your personal values. Purpose and values go hand in hand, though there are subtle differences between the two. Articulating your values can help you have a better idea of what you want your purpose to be and how you can live your purpose in your everyday life.

Learn more about defining your values here.

Build a Hero

• Identify 3-4 people you admire and would love to emulate in important ways (living, or not; you can know them personally, or not)

• For each person, identify 2-3 of the qualities you most admire about them and want to emulate.

• “Build” an imaginary hero; a person with ALL of the qualities you identified, and write a paragraph or two about them. Give the hero a name and a backstory; describe what they are like and how they spend their time. What is their purpose?

• Finally, imagine that this hero has chosen you to be their apprentice. They will teach you everything they’ve learned and train you to pursue these same aims. What would they have you do in your real life as part of that training? Consider what this hero would include in your specialized training plan, and dedicate 20 minutes/day to carrying out this training.

References

van Agteren, J., Bartholomaeus, T., Steains, E., Lo, L., & Gerace, A. (2021). Using a technology-based meaning and purpose intervention to improve well-being: A randomised controlled study. Journal of Happiness Study, 22(8), 3571-3591. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00383-4

DePaul University. (2022). Learning Activities for Purpose Exploration. https://resources.depaul.edu/teaching-commons/teaching-guides/learning-activities/Pages/Purpose-Exploration.aspx

Riches, B. R., Benavides, C. M., & Dubon, V. X. (2020). Development of a fostering purpose intervention. Evaluation and Program Planning, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2020.101857