Purpose

The real joy in life comes from finding your true purpose and aligning it with what you do every single day.

What is purpose?

Purpose, Noun
The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. For example, “the purpose of school is to educate”

So what does it mean for you to have ‘purpose’?

It can be defined as a feeling of motivation towards something that you believe in. It is often fuelled by your values and what you’re passionate about. It doesn’t always have to be something that is big and life-changing, it could just be how you want to make the most of your day.

You may find a feeling of purpose when playing sport or music, supporting a friend, public speaking, enjoying a walk… anything.

Taqaddam believes that connecting with your purpose can be an essential tool to connect with things that matter to you, to build your confidence and to navigate your way through the twists and turns of life.

5 examples of purpose in action

– A brilliant footballer decides to share his skills with young kids in his neighbourhood

– A child who loves nature grows up to become an environmental campaigner, devoting her life to protecting eco-systems

– A resident of a diverse neighbourhood decides to bring people together to share food and discussion

– A young musician gives himself 30 minutes a day to listen or practice

– An older sibling takes responsibility for a younger sibling

2 questions to uncover your passion – and turn it into a career | Noeline Kirabo

When passion becomes a career, you don’t just excel. You become unstoppable!

Allow things to unfold and you will find your purpose in life | Peggy Oki

Follow your heart with vision and actions!

How many lives can you live? | Sarah Kay

WOW!

So what is your purpose?

Purpose is deep! We hope that those stories have started you thinking, but you are the only one who can discover what it might mean for you.

We believe that answering these 3 simple questions can help you to uncover your purpose.
– What excites me?
– What am I good at?
– What difference do I want to make?

To uncover some your purpose, we want to explore these questions in some depth.

STEP 1: On a piece of paper write those questions down. Like this:

To help you answer these big questions, take your time to read through the following before your writing.

We recommend that you take up to 10 minutes for each question.

STEP 2: What excites me?

Take a moment to connect with that gut feeling about what really brings you joy. It might help to think about what you dreamed of doing when you were younger or something that you’ve been thinking about for a long time that keeps returning to you. What makes life worth living for you. What do you love to do? What would you choose to do even if no one paid you to do it?

STEP 3: What am I good at?

This can often be a very hard question to answer but if you really slow down and be kind to yourself, we’re sure you will find at least a few things. What do you find easy to do that others struggle with? What do your friends and family say that you are good at? What have you done in your life that people have respected or appreciated you for? If you are still struggling, ask for help. Ask 5 trusted people to tell you 5 things that you’re good at. Then pick the 5 you heard the most or that you feel best about.

STEP 4: What difference do I want to make?

The first two questions focus on your talents and feelings. This third question is about the world you want. Having a purpose means having something you work towards. So, what difference do you want to make? It doesn’t have to be a massive dream. It can be something much more immediate about your friends and family. Sometimes the things that upset you are a good clue to what your purpose might be. What troubles or frustrates you the most? What do you want to change? This might reveal something about your purpose.

So what? Now what?

Somewhere amongst all of your notes is something that could relate to your purpose. It might be really obvious or you might want to do some more work to figure out what it all means.