How Finding Your Purpose Can Make You Happy

There’s a quote by Dr. Albert Schweitzer that’s worth pondering:

“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others. “

Think about this for a minute. Finding your purpose becomes a lot easier when you think about it in these terms. What skills and traits do you have that could help others? How could you build your life, your job, or your business around those skills?

But what does all that have to do with making you happy? Taking the time to figure out how you can help others and then doing just that is a powerful thing. We are social creatures and hardwired to help our community. When we make it a daily goal to do just that it’s an incredibly rewarding experience.

Yes, part of it is because we’ll be thanked or recognized for what we’re doing, but that’s only a small part of it. To be perfectly honest, doing good will make you happy even when no one else knows about it. There’s an internal reward built in. We feel good about ourselves. Our self-worth grows and with it our self-esteem.

Or think about it this way. What would make you feel better? Going about your day shuffling papers, answering the phone and putting in the time required at your desk without much to show for at the end of the day? Or would you feel more fulfilled and happier if you knew without a shadow of a doubt that you made a difference in someone’s life today? What if that paperwork you did helped a family find a better place to live? What if those calls you made ensured that a little girl doesn’t go to bed hungry tonight. What if that class you taught helps a young mom stay home with her baby and still contribute to the family income? What if you found your purpose – whatever it may be – and made a real difference in someone’s life with what you do? Wouldn’t that make you feel happier? Wouldn’t that give you a sense of accomplishment?

Spend a little time to figure out what you can do to help those around you. Think about what you could do to serve others and make a difference in their lives. In other words, spend a little time figuring out what your purpose in life is and how it can impact the people whose lives you touch – be it in person, through a book or via the internet. That’s the beauty of the day and age we live in. We can reach and make a difference in the lives of people across the globe.

Stop making excuses and find your purpose, and with it your own happiness.

Do What You Love – Love What You Do

When you get up in the morning you have a choice. You can look forward to the day ahead, or you can dread it. And much of that choice depends on how much you like what you’re getting ready to do for the next 16 hours before it’s time to hit the hay again.

Of course we’re not going to love everything we end up doing during the day (I don’t know many of us that look forward to cleaning the bathroom), but you should be able to find some things to look forward to. And the more of that you can work into your life, the more fulfilled and happy you’ll be.         

Love What You Do For A Living

Is your job something you look forward to, or something you dread? If you’re not having fun and enjoy what you’re doing (most of the time… we all have bad days), it may be time to look into a career change. No amount of money is worth being miserable and it’s hard to enjoy life and love who you are when you hate much of what you’re doing each day. Instead find something you can get behind and be passionate about. Make a living while making a difference and fulfilling your purpose in life.

Do What You Love Around The House

Our home holds special place in our heart. It’s our safe place, where we raise our kids and rest our head at night. It should be a place we enjoy spending time in. It should be a property we are proud to own something we enjoy taking care of. In other words, our home should be our sanctuary.

Take a look around you. What do you love about your home? What don’t you love particularly? What can you do about that? Start small, but start to improve your surroundings. Moving into your dream house overlooking the ocean may not be an option right now, but you can paint your living room walls and hang up a pretty beach painting. Turn your home into a place you love.

Do What You Love – a.k.a. Hobbies

Even if you are in a situation where you can’t do much about your job or your house, there are other ways to incorporate what you love into your day. Find something you enjoy doing. It could be gardening, curling up with a good book, playing golf, photography, knitting… it doesn’t matter what it is as long as it is something you love and enjoy. In other words, find a hobby and make sure you make some time for it in your busy day and week.

5 Good Reasons to Find Your Why

5 Good Reasons To Find Your “Why”

There are quite a few reasons to find your “why”, your reason for getting up in the morning and doing what you do. Finding your purpose can be a powerful thing and it goes well beyond the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing something worthwhile. Let’s take a look at five different good reasons to spend the time to find your “why”.

You’ll Feel Less Stressed

How much mental energy and worry do you spend trying to figure out what you should or could be doing each day? When your “why” is clear in your mind, you don’t have to worry about that any longer and feel less stressed.

But there’s more to it than that. When we aren’t following our passion and purpose, we aren’t happy with what we’re doing and with that comes added stress. It’s no wonder that you’ll feel calmer and more relaxed about what you do and life in general when you know where you’re going.

You’ll Get More Done

Time flies when you’re having fun and it slows down to a crawl when you aren’t. Along the same lines you get a lot more productive and get through your workload in a lot less time when you have a purpose and are passionate about what you’re doing.

I’m sure you’ve noticed this in your daily life. When you’re working on something you enjoy or something that’s important to you, the work almost seems to do itself. You don’t even notice how long or how hard you’ve been at it.

You Do A Better Job

Not only do you get things done faster, you do everything you can to learn more and get better at what you love to do. As a result you do a much better job. Now there’s a great reason to find your why and follow your purpose.

You’ll Feel Better About Yourself

There’s nothing better to lift your mood and boost your self-esteem than doing some good. Don’t be surprised to notice quite a bit of this once you figure out what your purpose in life is and then do what you’re meant to be doing, helping those in need.

You’ll Be Happier

All of this leads to one all-important end result. You’ll be happier. You’ll be more fulfilled with what you do and live a more content life. And isn’t that something we’re all striving towards. Who knew the secret to lifelong happiness was to find your “why”.

Recognizing Your Own Fears – and Overcoming Them

You may not recognize your own fears and simply see them as uncomfortable feelings of inadequacy. Only when you can recognize them for what they are and put a name to them will you be able to plot against them and finally overcome them.

Fear turns to anxiety and together they can wreak havoc on your goals and dreams for the future. Symptoms of fear and anxiety may be pronounced - such as a rise in blood pressure or heart rate.

Your breathing patterns may change and you may feel like you want to run rather than face your fears. Others may experience a paralyzed feeling and take no action at all. Procrastination is a result and you may never overcome it, depending on how fearful we are and how much we’re willing to fight it.

Simply the anticipation of problems or a bad ending to a situation can cause symptoms of fear and cause us to drop out emotionally and physically of wherever we were heading when fear stopped us in our tracks.

You don’t have to accept fear and let it rule your life. Face it head on with true facts rather than the negative scenarios you let run through your mind when facing the unknown.

Once you know your fears for what they are, you can find a solution to move past it. You take control rather than fear controlling you. You’re no longer the victim, but an empowered and self-confident person who invites positivity rather than negativity into your life.

After you’re able to recognize the signs and symptoms of your fears, you’ll be better able to empower yourself, face the fears and trust that you can overcome the fears and be on your way to achieving your dreams and goals.

It’s easier to empower yourself when you have a plan. Set mini goals for yourself when you’re afraid of the outcome of a situation. Each time you reach one of those small goals you’re further on your way to realizing the end result – and with each small step you’re knocking down the building blocks of fear.

Fear makes you settle for less than you can be. You may settle for a job that pays less than you’re worth simply because of fear preventing you from thinking of yourself as worth it.

Settling for a relationship that doesn’t really work is also based on fear – fear that you’ll never be able to have the relationship you want because you don’t deserve it. Overcome those fears by thinking about what steps you’d take if you did deserve happiness - both in a relationship and your life’s work. Think of the amazing things that could happen in your life if you could just stop being afraid. Begin to unmask the fears and see them for what they really are – lies.