You might be in a place at the moment where you are questioning your professional purpose. You’re seeking to find meaning in what you do in your day-to-day work, and are looking to re-energise your career and life as a whole.

In Japan, the Japanese call it Ikigai “meaning for life” or “what makes life worth living”.

In France, the French call life purpose Raison d’être “reason for being”.

In the Hindu culture, “right way of living” is called Dharma, and the path of rightness explains life purpose. The implication of dharma is that there is a right or true way for each person to carry out their life in order to serve both themselves and others

Whereas, in the Chinese culture, the Daoist philosophy, sees the yin-yang symbol is the purpose of life. The Way is tolive spontaneously between order and chaos.

You can have multiple passions, whereas I believe you build your purpose throughout your life. Your purpose and why you do things is likely to have a different focus in your 20s, to your 40s and your 60s.

Almost any job or career you do, will have purpose. It is a case of looking at what you do and who benefits as a consequence.

If you cracked your purpose from an early age, and have built your career and life around your ‘why’, you’re one of the very few lucky ones. For many of us, discovering our purpose takes trial, error and builds over time.

The way you go about your “why” is also linked to your values and beliefs.

In Simon Sinek’s famous TED Talk on ‘how great leaders inspire action’ he refers to a golden circle model. Sinek believes your ‘why’, is at the centre of everything you do and also links to how your brain operates too. 

If you’re in the process of re-evaluating your work and life, have a go at honing your purpose by starting with these questions:

Question 1: When do you remember feeling the happiest in your childhood? Was there an event that led to you experiencing this joy? Describe that in detail.

Question 2: What three words would other people use to describe you?

Question 3: What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Question 4: What do you take a stand for?

Questions 5: What do you take a stand against?

Question 6: What makes you feel happiness or joy in your career?

Question 7: What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

Question 8: What is the number one belief that keeps you stuck and holds you back from getting what you want out of life?

Question 9: If a magic genie granted you one wish, what would that wish be and why?

Question 10: What legacy do you want to leave behind? In other words, what do you want people to say about you when you’re gone?

So, you’ve answered those ten questions.

What thoughts have come up from this exercise?

What makes you happy? What makes you sad? Write it down.

What changes or shifts immediately come to mind?

Now take a deep breath.

How do you feel after working through these questions? Relieved? Surprised? Sad?

This exercise is the start of you recognising what you do naturally, what you enjoy and gives you clues into what your life and career purpose could be. It also starts the process of you seeing how your find value in what you do at work and at home.