If you are asking the question, then my guess would be that you are probably not living your life purpose.  A small percentage of people seem to understand what their life purpose is at a young age, but for the rest of us, it’s something we have to discover along the way.  Of course, you only discover your life purpose when you are searching for it.  That’s probably what brought you to this article. Some of the signs that you are not living your life purpose are:  restlessness, boredom, looking for more meaning in your life. 

The most important aspect of living your life purpose is that you will have to change at the core of your being.  Let’s be honest here, change is not something most people welcome with open arms.  In fact John Kenneth Galbraith, an economist, reminds us about human nature, “Given the choice between changing and proving there’s no need to do so, almost everybody will get busy on the proof.”

So discovering your life purpose is about change.  Are you ready to be transformed?  If so, then read on.

Eckhart Tolle, in his bestselling book, “A New Earth:  Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” says that we actually have an inner purpose and an outer purpose.  He states that our inner purpose is simply to “awaken” and that awakening is simply a “shift in consciousness in which thinking and awareness separate.”  So instead of being “lost in your thinking”, when you are awake then you recognize awareness behind your thoughts. 

Tolle states that our “outer purpose” concerns doing, is secondary and usually changes over time.  He goes on to say that “finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling your outer purpose.”  If you don’t have this alignment, then you will most likely experience a great deal of struggle, effort and have no real joy in your life, which leads to suffering.

Your outer purpose, according to Tolle, is not always so much what you do, but how you do it.  It’s about the consciousness you have when you “do” whatever it is you are doing.  If you are awakened then whatever you are doing, you will experience acceptance, enjoyment and enthusiasm.

For years I was miserable in my job as a paralegal and legal secretary.  I was stuck in my cubicle prison working on a computer all day dreaming of my escape.  I was suffering and I was not living my life purpose.  I certainly was not living my inner purpose or my outer purpose and it wasn’t until I left that draining environment that I actually reconnected with myself, my Spirit, my Higher Power and began finding and living in alignment.  It took me several years to get to the place; it was not an overnight event.

So let’s talk about what Tolle refers to as “doing” because if you are not living your purpose then you are probably unhappy with what you are “doing”.  The question you need to ask yourself daily is:  

Is this what I want to be doing?

In this moment, right now, because this moment is all you have.  It’s about getting in touch with your true desires, dreams, passions and preferences.  It’s about knowing yourself and the only way you can know yourself is to stop all the chatter in your mind, get still and spend time with yourself every day.  Meditation and journaling is a great tool that will lead you back to yourself and your purpose in life. 

If you are in a job that you absolutely hate, but you stay to pay the bills then you are not living your purpose.  There is no joy in spending 8 hours a day in a job that drains your spirit.  Same with relationships; ask yourself, does this relationship bring me joy?

So let me ask you a question: 

If money wasn’t an issue, what would you be doing?

Be honest.  There are no right or wrong answers.  What would you be doing right now if you had millions of dollars in the bank.  Explore those answers because they will lead you to your outer purpose.  Another good question to ask yourself is: What do I love to practice?  Something that you absolutely love doing (not like doing, but love doing) and that you are passionate enough about it to practice it.

So really, what is it you want to be doing?  Not, what you “should” be doing, but in the deepest part of your being, what is it you want to be doing.  Ask this question everyday in the stillness and go in that direction.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears.  I believe you are ready to find your life purpose because you are searching for it.  Your spirit led you here.