Life Purpose Audit
“What is my life purpose?”
That might be THE most important question you can ask yourself.
Why? Because it gives your life context and direction.
Your life purpose informs everything you do. It refines all of your thoughts, words and actions and channels them in a focused way.
This builds a lot of energy. That’s why people who have a strong sense of purpose have a powerful aura and achieve great things.
In this article, you’ll learn how to hone in on your purpose.
But first, a story…
Dark to Light
When I was 19, I almost died of alcohol poisoning one night.
It was the culmination of so many self-destructive patterns I’d fallen into.
I woke up in the ER, lucky to be alive.
Later that day, I started contemplating my life purpose.
Why am I here on Earth?
What’s my purpose?
Is there more to life?
Is there life after death?
How can I be a better person?
How can I be happy?
I obsessed over those kinds of questions for months after.
And while I didn’t get exact answers, it helped attune me to a calling — the subtle whispers of my Soul.
I followed this intuitive calling. It led me to exercise, nutrition, journaling, meditation, spiritual books, personal development books, etc.
Those practices created unstoppable spiritual momentum in my life that has only accelerated over time.
Every time I explore deep questions around life purpose, new unexpected insights emerge and it places me on a higher trajectory. That’s why I’m sharing this with you, because I know you will benefit (maybe in surprising ways).
What is Life Purpose?
“Life purpose” can be such a vague concept sometimes.
Defining it is simple. It’s just, “why you’re here.”
But knowing YOUR life purpose can get tricky.
People think their entire life purpose needs to be like a one-sentence mission statement. It doesn’t.
Life purpose is more of an alignment with your soul. It’s being in tune with your highest path.
That’s why we say things like, “being on purpose” or “on mission” — because you feel it when you’re in alignment. It’s a deep knowing; a strong intuitive sense.
Levels of Purpose
There are levels to purpose too.
It’s not just one thing. More like concentric circles of purpose working in concert.
Level 1
On the most general level (I’ll call it “Level 1”), we all have similar purposes. It’s along the lines of…
The spiritual evolution of our soul
Learning and experiencing
Helping humanity’s spiritual evolution
This is the level of collective purpose that we’re all participating in on a soul level.
Level 2
Where things get more specific is at the next level (Level 2). This is more individualized and mission-oriented.
It’s how you go about manifesting that grand purpose, or the specific approaches you take.
Here are some examples I would use for myself:
Raise consciousness through writing
Help humans commune with ideas in a more masterful, harmonious way
To make spiritual growth part of normal conversation
Notice that these are more specific, more mission-driven, and more unique to the individual.
You can keep breaking this down to even more specific levels until you get to your state of being right now.
And once you reach the specificity of your state of being right now, guess what? That’s how you reconnect with that highest level purpose (Level 1).
This is what I’m talking about, in terms of purpose being a deep knowing and sense of alignment. It’s a quantum feedback loop from the microcosm of your state of being here and now to the macrocosm of your whole incarnation (and beyond).
How to Hone In
Now, how can you clarify your purpose?
Here’s the bad news. You can’t force it, or think your way into your purpose.
The good news is that some simple (but deep) questions lead to so many insights.
With high-level things like your life purpose, questions are what allow you to tap into that space — that mystery of existence.
I invite you to go through the process below of contemplation and journaling.
Grab a pen and paper, set some time aside and do the following.
Step 1) Explore
Answer the following questions:
What are you most passionate about?
What do people ask you for advice about?
What makes you unique?
If you could write a 1-2 sentence bio about your ideal self, what would it be?
These questions will help you explore and discover your purpose from new perspectives.
Step 2) Get More Specific
Now, coalesce your explorations into more specific (Level 2) missions for your life.
Write out 2-3 specific forms of purpose (the approaches you take, how you’re manifesting that general purpose, etc).
Step 3) Alignment Evaluation
Be raw and honest with yourself here.
On a scale of 1-10: (10 = 100% alignment)
How aligned is your life with your Level 1 purpose?
How aligned is your life with your Level 2 purposes?
How aligned are your daily habits with your purpose?
How aligned is your self-talk with your purpose?
How aligned are your habitual emotions with your purpose?
Note: Total those 5 scores up. If your total score is less than 25, you have some big changes to make in your thoughts, words, actions, habits and lifestyle. If your total score is above 25, find small ways to refine your direction in life (but don’t forget to acknowledge where you’re at and appreciate the present moment).
And one more question around alignment:
How could you align your life right now more with your life purpose?
Life Purpose Audit Worksheet
If you contemplated the above questions at all, you probably gained new insights.
There’s levels to this though. The more focused you are with exploring your life purpose, the clearer it becomes.
That’s why I created a worksheet that takes you through a deeper process for clarifying your life purpose and creating alignment with it.
It’s a 9-step journaling process that takes anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on how thorough you want to get with it. So even though it takes you deep, it’s not a complicated, long, intimidating thing to do.
I can’t express the importance of contemplating your life purpose enough.
It’s one of those things where a single question you pose to yourself can change the whole trajectory of your life (in the best way).
If you want to go deeper, here’s where to get it: Life Purpose Audit Worksheet.
The worksheet is Pay What You Feel, because even though it’s so valuable, I want it to be accessible for everyone.
Cheers to living in your life purpose.
Much love,
Stephen Parato
PS - Here’s where to access the worksheet again: Life Purpose Audit Worksheet
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