[MagicalRealist]

Originally Posted by {aspiring_to_clarity}

How many of you still don't know what your purpose is? How many took the step and quit your job only to end up back on the daily grind when your savings ran out?

I've done that twice in the past; the first time, I fell flat and ended up back in a normal job. The second time, I found a way to be self-employed, but did not love it.

For what it's worth, I didn't figure out what my true purpose was until very recently (and I'm 41). I always knew that it would have something to do with my fine arts background, and that it might involve writing, but the exact form it would take didn't click into place until recently.

The best I can tell you is that the things you are doing right now and the experiences you are having will turn out to be valuable once you do discover your purpose. Maybe you are gaining skills that will help you. Maybe you are gaining a deeper understanding of others' situations through your own struggles. I used to think that some things I did were really just a waste of time; but looking back, I can see how they were not.

You took the big leap of quitting your job once. Never mind that you're back at another job for right now; that was a very brave thing to do. Most people would never take that kind of risk. And that you did it once tells me that when the time is right, you'll be able to do it again.

I said in another thread that I'm not really scared of anything and I really thought that was true. But if it is, why would I run back to the relative safety of a job rather than pursue something I could be proud of?

Because maybe, for right now, that's where you need to be? And there's a lot of reasons why that may be true. Maybe something connected to this job will help you discover your passion. Maybe you'll meet somebody, or hear about something through this job that will do it. I honestly don't know. Or maybe it has nothing to do with that specific job, but you just need that position of "safety" to work on other things in your life.

Figuring this out and really making leaps and bounds in my health/wellness are the big priorities I want to focus on as I head into the coming year.

Even if you feel "stuck" as far as finding your passion goes you can still make huge gains in meeting your health and wellness goals. And who knows? Maybe in doing that, you'll find your passion. Or maybe, by strengthening your body and creating better habits, you'll be physically better-prepared to handle the next big change in your life.

You'll get there. And as ns123 has pointed out, maybe your purpose is right in front of you, something you've loved all along that doesn't seem "important" enough to be your real life purpose (that's what happened to me). Maybe it's something that made you incredibly happy as a kid, but you were discouraged from doing it and you eventually lost touch with that joy.

And keep in mind that your purpose doesn't have to be "big" in scope; it could be something that you love doing for its own sake, that isn't directly involved in "helping" people, but does so anyway. On the surface, it might look very humble, and you'll find yourself saying, "That's it?" Even if you do specifically want to help other people, don't get caught in the trap that your purpose has to be all about that--when you find your purpose and live it, you will help people, knowingly or not.