Finding Purpose in Life
As time goes on and waits for no one we may feel like we keep getting thrown around life's endless waves. One day we could wake up and wonder to ourselves, how did I get here, why does my life feel so meaningless?
One could say we get lost in the everyday impact of life. Our phones keep us stuck in a realm of comparison that if we don't check ourselves we might not even realize the ick and fogginess that surrounds and engulfs us like a thick slime. Somewhere along the way we decided that what was out there was more important than listening to our inner knowing. An inner knowing that is made up of all the things that fill up our body with warmth and a sense of fullness. How does this even happen you might ask yourself, how did I land in this spot where life feels meaningless? Many times what ends up transpiring when this occurs is that at some point in the trajectory of our life we stopped asking ourselves what we wanted. More specifically, we stopped listening to the no’s that popped up in our day to day. Things that we’ve convinced ourselves as musts in order to please those around us. “What would it look like if you were to say no?” you think to yourself. “Not possible" says a voice and just like that we slowly but energetically start subscribing to things that are simply not in line with what we want, need, or crave for.
Taking inventory of your time
So how do we go about taking the reins back in our life and finding a purpose or more specifically finding your purpose? We start by taking inventory of everything we’ve subscribed to throughout the years. This means looking at and getting specific with where we’re spending most of our time. Check out the following activity to see where you might be spending most of your time. Many times these tasks have a tendency to creep up on us and we don't even realize how much time we’re spending on them.
Get a sheet of notebook paper
Think back to your last 3 days (if this feels too overwhelming think back to 1 day)
Start with day 1, on the first line write down the time you woke up and go from there
Write down every hour along with what you did in that hour for example, 7 am - woke up, scrolled phone, and made coffee
Continue this for every hour of the day
Now, when you’re done, look back at the different things you were able to accomplish in your day and ask yourself, did I get the chance to do any of the things that fill me up, that make me feel good? If the answer is no, think about all the places where you might’ve said yes when you really wanted to say no. Think of the following questions as you go over your daily activities:
Is there a possibility to shorten the time on certain tasks?
Where is there a space in your schedule to take a breather?
Where could you pass things off to another person?
What are you valuing?
Looking at your schedule might feel like a dreadful thing to do. We might not realize, at the moment, that doing this helps us come face to face with the current values we are subscribing to. Many times the simple answer to our vast question, “why does my life feel meaningless?” is simply because the current values we are subscribing to and carrying out are not the values we align with. As you start changing a task here and there, start to notice the difference this may have on your energy and hopefulness levels throughout your day. You might be surprised to see the impact it can create.
