Quick Question: What Do you want to do with your life?

On this journey of discovery for life’s purpose, I pose these questions: What do you love spending time doing? Is there something you already love doing that makes you happy? Is there something that you are good at, and could spend endless hours doing? Why are all these questions important? Simple. They keep you motivated towards your goals and achieving the life you desire. Having a meaningful long term goal is beneficial for your well-being and guides your deeper sense of purpose, leading to better health and even economic success

What makes you get up every day?

When you know the bigger reason why you wake up every day, going through life’s mundane daily tasks, even the ones that don’t necessarily make you feel happy and fulfilled, won’t feel as boring anymore. The truth is, we all need to learn skills and do things we may not necessarily like in order to pay the bills. In order to mentally shift your focus to one of positive, look at them as stepping stones. In tandem, take daily, purposeful baby steps towards achieving the bigger picture of your dream life. Life, as we all know, can be difficult and uncertain, but when honing on your strengths and your unique offerings, it makes those mundane tasks all worth it on the path to your ideal life.

Embrace Unexpected, Big Life-Changing Opportunities

From experience, I can share this helpful advice: Be absolutely unapologetic about the steps you take towards achieving your dream life. Change is an essential part of growth and development. Taking those (somewhat scary) first steps to grab opportunities that present themselves in our everyday life, are the moments that propel us forward in discovering our purpose.

For many of us, those first steps are when you graduate, take your first big job or quit a job you don’t like, moving to your own place, buying a home, starting a family or business, etc. Every level of life offers the chance to step outside the everyday comfort zones and it’s your decision whether or not to take that step. With that step comes work, and with that work comes growth. These types of big life changes help us discover more of ourselves. Some people are happy doing things the way they have always been done and live fulfilled lives. For others, constant change is a necessary part of what makes life, life.

Identify Your True Strength & Talents

Is your support system is on the other side of the world? Have you just moved to a new town? Did you land a new job? Have you started a business? It’s in these profound moments that shake up your world, that you learn new strengths and talents about yourself you never knew you had. Sometimes discovering your own strengths can be as simple as asking a close friend or family member to identify the top three qualities they see in you. I recently did just that, and the feedback prompted a profound step in my journey and gave me a fresh focus. The other thing you learn when realizing your strengths is pinpointing what you’re not good at, and that’s a very good thing. Public Service Announcement: We don’t have to be good at everything!

There is a saying in my native language, Papiamento, “Bo no por kibra hero cu man.”, which translates to “You can’t bend metal steel with your bare hands.” Sometimes, we tend to get stuck in a rut and focus on things we don’t know how to do or want to learn all. But the fact is, we need to remain positive and embrace the unique strength and talents that we bring to the table because we are all blessed with a uniqueness of self.

You are the negotiator of every aspect of your life

If you’re not negotiating every aspect of your life in a positive way, or not negotiating at all, your lessons in life will likely be harder learned. Think about it… from the moment you rise until you close your eyes, we actively or passively negotiate our way through life daily. But, as we grow older and reach different levels in life, the stakes of those negotiations are raised. The question now becomes “Will I marry this person?”, “Should I take this job”, “Can I move to a new country?” Just as in business, your life is a series of contracts, terms, and conditions. How you build strategies that foster alignment and fruitful partnerships or divest yourself from things not in line with your core values, will determine the quality of your life. Know your non-negotiables and learn to effectively communicate and share with others what you want and what is essential for your happiness. The result will be stronger relationships and learnings that often illuminate new opportunities. The more you work and negotiate for the things you want, the closer you will be to achieving the life of your dreams.