Living a Purposeful Life – 15 Simple Things You Can Start Doing Today
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Do you know if you’re living purposefully? Want some strategies to make sure you are? Here are 15 ideas you can implement today to start living a purposeful life.
Living with
We all have a unique path we’re supposed to follow. We all can find a life
Unfortunately, as you get older, it might become harder and harder to stay on track.
It gets more challenging to focus on what really matters – there are so many responsibilities, expectations, and too many distractions that you might lose your focus and get sidetracked from the things that matter – your
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are 15 ideas and strategies you can start doing today to live life more purposefully.
1. Know your values
Living purposefully is about living in alignment with your core set of
What you can do today: Write down things that are important to you – like family, spending time in nature, developing yourself to be your best possible self… But make sure you’re writing down things that you consider important – not what the world expects you to.
And then also write down your core
If you know your
RELATED POST: How to define your core values + a list of over 150 personal core values (PDF included)
2. Find your ikigai
What’s the reason you wake up in the morning?
Are the things you love, that you’re good at, that the world needs, and that you can get paid for all intersecting? Have you found your ikigai?
If you go through the motions of your daily life and never discover what really makes you feel alive, it might be time to look deeper into the Japanese concept called Ikigai and start living a more fulfilling life.
What you can do today: Learn more about ikigai. Check out this post: How to find your ikigai – the ultimate guide to find meaning in everyday life.
RELATED POST: Find your ikigai – the ultimate guide to find meaning in everyday life
3. Don’t let your past dictate your future
We all have regrets in our past, things that we wish we could change. But if we let those regrets define who we are today and prevent us from moving forward with our lives, we are giving too much power for the past.
What you can do today: It’s time to stop letting your past dictate your future; it’s time for you to start living for yourself now.
Look at the things that have happened in your life as stories you can learn from.
Decide you won’t make the same mistake again and then move on. Don’t let them define you and determine your future.
4. Don’t wait for the perfect moment
Do you ever find yourself saying you would do something if only ____ (fill in the blank).
The problem isn’t a lack of knowledge or information; the real issue is that you might be waiting for the perfect moment and ideal situation before starting your projects. This keeps you from making
What you can do today: The good news is that there’s no such thing as “the perfect moment.” So instead of waiting until everything is in place, think of the smallest possible step you could take and do that.
5. Strive for progress , not perfection
You know that having dreams and setting goals and achieving them is important, but sometimes for some reason, they’re on the back burner in your life.
If perfectionism is taking over, it’s hard to make progress. And it’s even harder getting out of your comfort zone when you’re afraid of making mistakes or falling short of expectations.
What you can do today: Don’t wait for things to go your way and do everything right from the start. Just take small steps every day in the right direction – towards your dreams and goals – and you’ll have a way bigger chance to eventually reach them.
RELATED POST: How to strive for progress not perfection – 7 simple strategies
PSST! And if you suspect you might have perfectionist tendencies you can find simple strategies to overcome perfectionism from this post.
6. Create daily routines that inspire you to live more purposefully
What do you do the first thing you wake up in the morning? How do you spend your days?
Creating life-changing routines can be tricky. When you start a new habit, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and give up before you even begin.
But you don’t have to change your entire lifestyle overnight to create meaningful change in your life! Start small by creating daily rituals that inspire positive transformation over time.
What you can do today:
- Start small.
- Write down the 3-9 things you do first thing in the morning and how it makes you feel.
- Write down your “dream morning .”Something that would inspire you, something that would kick off the day just right. And see what things you could implement immediately to your existing morning routine.
The daily routines help you feel better, think better and perform better. And if those routines are aligned with your life
Looking for habit tracker printables? You can find multiple pretty ones from this post: 43 cute & free habit tracker printables
7. Find your gifts, talents, and skills
When you think about what are the things that make you feel alive, it could be something not necessarily related to work or career.
You may find it’s something internal like your passion for healing others by giving massages, love, and joy in creating jewelry, or by volunteering for charity – and you’re good at it. Finding your life
What you can do today: Write down what you think your gifts, talents, and skills are. Then ask your friends and loved ones what they think they are and write them down as well.
Usually, we like the things we are good at. It’s because we’re in our comfort zone, and we’ve done those things a lot. Maybe you’ll learn something new from the list.
Implement those gifts and skills that light up your heart more to your life, and try to find creative ways you could use them.
Finding your gifts, talents, and skills can help you follow your life
8. Give your time, energy, and resources to people who deserve it
You’re busy. And your time is limited. And if you give your time, energy, and resources to everyone – regardless if they really need it or appreciate it – at some point, you will run out.
What you can do today: Spend time with people who inspire you, not those who drag you down.
Give your time, energy, and resources to people who really need it and appreciate you. You don’t have to be a superhero and save the world all by yourself!
And remember to also allocate time to take care of yourself as well.
9. Stop living for the weekends
Have you ever found yourself saying already on Tuesday: “I wish it would be Friday.”
And then on Sunday evening, you wish it would be Friday again.
What you can do today: Living a purposeful life means enjoying every day. Don’t just wait for the weekend to have fun. Make every day count and enjoy living in the moment. Start small. Know what little things make you happy and add those to your Mondays and Tuesdays.
10. Focus on the positive aspects of your life
There’s something positive always to be found. Something is always going well in your life – even though it might not always be obvious. To start living a purposeful life requires to search for those positive aspects of your life and focus on them.
What you can do today: Don’t know what those positive things are? Write down three things that went well today and one thing you learned. Ask yourself what one positive aspect or perspective you could add to your day tomorrow is?
Maybe you’ll surprise yourself and realize there are more positive things in your life than you previously thought.
Focusing on the positive is an easy way to feel instantly happier and living a purposeful life.
11. Take risks and step out of your comfort zone
Risks and stepping out of your comfort zone doesn’t mean bungee jumping or quitting your job. It’s living on your own terms and not for other people’s expectations- doing things even though they might be difficult or take time to accomplish.
What you can do today: Step out of your comfort zone, even in little steps. Maybe you could shake things up a little bit and try something just because it feels scary, or perhaps you could say no to something you don’t want to do, but everyone else seems to be doing.
The point is not to do things that others consider important but to step out of your comfort zone if following your life
And if you’ll need a little “push” to get out of your comfort zone, then try Mel Robbins’ 5-second rule.
12. Make time to appreciate the simple things in life
We scroll down our Instagram feeds and see everyone living these extraordinary and exciting lives, and we feel bad about ours. Our lives aren’t exciting enough. We haven’t traveled around the world, and we don’t have the latest iPhone. Our living is too mundane compared to everyone else’s. And we become unhappy.
And none of that is true. You have an extraordinary life!
What you can do today: You can stop comparing your life to others without leaving Instagram for good.
One way to do this is by looking for the simple things in life that make you happy. Don’t look at your life like it would be an Instagram post. Look at it through your own eyes and how they make you feel.
If something makes you laugh – that’s awesome! If something makes you feel safe and loved – excellent!
Don’t take anything for granted. Whether it’s a hug from your child, peace and quiet or happy hour with friends – living purposefully means living in the moment and being aware of how lucky you are.
Take joy in the little things – living with purpose means living every day as if it’s a special gift to yourself.
Psst! This is something I love to say to myself as often as possible: “Find happiness in the ordinary and your life becomes extraordinary.”
13. Don’t let fear hold you back from living your life
No one wants to make mistakes. And no one wants to be judged.
And if you don’t try anything at all, you won’t be making any mistakes either. Super! Problem solved. And yet, not. Living a life without taking any risks means living a very dull life.
And please don’t get me wrong – there’s nothing wrong with boring! But if you’re not living the life you’d like to live because you’re afraid to make mistakes or being judged, then it’s not the life you’re supposed to live.
What you can do today: Think about what scares you. And then ask yourself what would be the worst thing that could happen if you would do it anyway. You might surprise yourself with the answer because usually, the “worst” thing that could happen is not that bad as we think it is.
14. Become more aware of living in the present moment
I often find myself living in the past. I think of all the “should’ve done’s” or “could’ve done’s.” And when I do that, I miss living my life as it is right now. Does this ever happen to you?
And then I also notice my mind traveling to the next place I need to be or the next thing I need to do, instead of concentrating on the things and people in the here and now.
So if this ever happens to you as well, then here’s something you can start doing today.
What you can do today: Become more aware of living in the present moment.
If you find yourself telling your friend who you’re having coffee with all the things you need to do after the coffee, then stop yourself immediately, look around you and look at your friend, smell the coffee and take a deep breath.
Learning how to live in the now is living with intention and living a purposeful life.
15. Take yourself on a date
How do you talk to your best friend? Are you encouraging? Kind? Are you loving? Are you listening and paying attention to what your friend is telling you? Those are the things that make our best friends so special, right?
So why don’t we treat ourselves in the same way we treat our best friends – like we love and respect them and want nothing but good for them.
What you can do today: Take yourself on a date. Go out with yourself, treat yourself to a movie or dinner, or go to some cute coffee house you usually wouldn’t go to.
And take a notebook with you. Write yourself a letter. A few encouraging words. Tell yourself what you’re proud of, or let yourself know how awesome you are. Give examples. And then next time you take yourself on a date again, read what you wrote.
If you want to live a purposeful life, living every day as if they’re extra special and living with intention is not an easy task.
These simple tips can help you start living your best life by making the most of what you have today – even when things don’t always go according to plan. And even though there are multiple tips and strategies to try out, don’t do all of them at the same time. Choose one or two to start with.
All in all, living purposefully means giving yourself time and space to do what makes you happy – whether that be reading more books, spending quality time with friends, or going out for coffee at your favorite cafe. Whatever it is that makes your life fuller.
What are some ways you make room for happiness in your own life? What are the things you already do to live life with purpose?
RELATED POST: Live life purposefully – 21 signs you’re living a purposeful life.
STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: Life purpose – 10-step framework to discover your true purpose
WANT SOME INSPIRATION: Check out these 23 inspiring quotes to help you live a life of purpose