Have you ever contemplated what you are here on Earth to learn? What are you meant to discover? What purpose are you here to serve? Who are you meant to become?
The answers to these questions will likely not be answered in one sitting or one statement; however you can begin to uncover some ideas as answers through the exercise of crafting a life purpose statement.
A life purpose statement is:
Your own expression of an inspiring world vision, and how your personal being and doing contributes to the development of this vision of the world.
Beyond giving us just an action to busy ourselves with in life, a good life purpose statement includes two additional and essential factors:
A reason, or purpose, to exist that is linked to the greater scheme of things (i.e. the world). Defining your purpose in terms of a why within the context of the world is important to help you feel connected rather than isolated from the whole. Isolation from the world is a very demoralizing mental state for humans beings, and can arise if the framing of your “why I exist” is not set within the greater context the world.
Integration of both qualities of doing and qualities of being. A meaningful life involves a balance of both of these qualities. Over-focusing on one while ignoring the other will leave us either feeling burned out or useless, both of which end up making us discouraged and demoralized.
Developing your life purpose statement can put you in position to then do the follow-up work of figuring out “what” you can do that will support your “why,” “how,” to align your life with your meaningful purpose, and “who” it is important to interact with along the way.
The process of creating your life purpose statement might feel a bit awkward or uncomfortable at first. If so, this is a good sign that this work is helping you to expand and grow your concept of self.
If your life purpose statement is right for you, then thinking about or reading it should excite you, evoke you, and energize you. It doesn’t have to make you jump out of your chair ready to change your whole life all at once, but contemplating it should not leave you feeling flat, ambivalent, or “meh.” If you do feel apathetic about it, then that’s okay! Just try brainstorming a few more ideas and trying those on.
A life purpose statement should include some of the following:
Integrating you into greater whole, either through connections with other people, nature, or your own concept of the world
Both qualities of being (these are non-actions values, like creativity, love, ambition, or wisdom) and doing (these are actions or verbs, like teaching, learning, exploring, or building)
Resonance or meaning with you personally, rather than what someone else wants of you or what you feel you ought to be/do
Relatively short; less than 50 words
A life purpose statement should not include specific, achievable outcomes. Your life purpose statement will in the end give rise to goals and specifics, but should not include these components itself. Your purpose statement is a vision for your life, and therefore is never possible to “achieve.” If it were, then you would need to continuously define new life purpose statements, because your old life purpose was achieved.
Life purpose statements also don’t need to be forever, either. They should be expansive enough to guide us at least over a period of multiple years; but because our values/priorities change over the course of our lives as we change, our life purpose statements may also change in order to support our growth along the arc of our lives. If a very signifiant life change or epiphany has occurred in your life, consider whether your life purpose statement still inspires and energizes you, and try ideating a new one if not.
Use the following questions to help guide you defining your own life purpose statement:
What does the world that you want for yourself and your loved ones look like?
What kind of journey could you embark on to help make that world a reality?
Which of your values or important qualities will help you most in your journey?
Which activities do you see yourself undertaking in your journey?
Who else will you interact with during your journey? How will you interact with them?
Your answers to these questions are meant to get your ideas flowing. Some of them may actually become part of your statement, but you don’t have to try to figure out how to cram everything you come up with into your actual life purpose statement.
Again, if you come up with a statement that doesn’t truly inspire you or excite you, that’s okay! Call that draft one and go back to brainstorming and thinking up new ideas. Go bigger, broader, bolder, deeper, more imaginative, and more outrageous and try creating 3 or 5 more.
If you are still struggling to write yours, that’s still okay. Take a detour to get your creative juices flowing by exploring some of the following tips.
Life purpose statement template
Download the printable template here.
If you feel overwhelmed by the act of facing a blank paper, try using this fill-in-the blank-style template to helps channel your inspiration and inner clarity into word form.
My life purpose is to be _(a metaphor or abstract state that inspires you)_
that embodies (1-2 core values)
and is dedicated to _(1-2 activities that you want to do throughout the life’s journey)
(who/what you want to impact)
Ikigai
“Ikigai” is a Japanese concept (similar to the Indian concept of dharma) that involves identifying the central theme between 4 themes of doing:
What you enjoy
What you are good at
What you can earn a living in
What the world needs
Use this exercise to guide your thinking about what you might do within the context of the wider world, but don’t worry so much about what you can do now; your life purpose statement can also just be to work towards discovering what you enjoy doing, are good at, or what you can earn a living doing, or what the world needs.
Define your personal values and core values
Values are the set of guiding principles we use to form our perceptions and inform our decisions, and core values are the values we chose of our own volition to embody.
Value are the compass with which we guide ourselves through life. Their purpose is to reliably point the way to our true north when we are unsure, and form a solid ground to stand upon when making decisions.
Defining your values is a key way of triangulating in on what vision of life resonates with you and can stimulate your envisioning mental muscles, in addition to actually appearing in your life purpose statement.
Learn how to define your personal values.
Ready for some life purpose statement examples? Seeing the final product of other people’s approaches is always the best part, isn’t it?
Here are 3 examples using the fill-in-the-blank template above:
My life purpose is to be a map to eternal treasure that embodies success and prosperity, and is dedicated to inspiring and teaching anyone who wants to achieve a better life.
My life purpose is to be a screaming fighter-jet that embodies confidence and risk-taking, and is dedicated to adventuring and experiencing the world.
My life purpose is to be a positive force that embodies connection and joy, and is dedicated to loving and supporting my family.
Here are seven other examples of life purpose statements, written free-form:
My life purpose is to continue developing wisdom, every single day.
My life purpose is to fill other peoples’ cups, while keeping my own cup filled.
My life purpose is to discover my life’s true purpose, and to live in a way that makes my life meaningful.
My life purpose is to live a fun and productive life, while minimizing my impact on the planet and other people.
My life purpose is to make a good enough living that enables me to be free to enjoy my life outside of work.
My life purpose is apply my creativity and ambition to continuously reinvent myself throughout my life’s journey.
My life purpose is to develop to my fullest potential in my career, while maintaining a healthy balance of investment of myself in my partner, family, and friend relationships.
That’s all for today – thanks for reading! Learn more about how working with a personal development coach can help you to live a more fulfilling life, sign up for my newsletter, and stay tuned for more self-discovery essays!
