Recently I read an article by Jordan Gross in Medium about finding one’s life’s purpose in which he quotes Elizabeth Gilbert. Based on her words he suggests we ask ourselves 3 questions:
Elizabeth Gilbert
‘Stop trying to follow your passion. Instead, explore your curiosity.’
- What kinds of articles, videos or people grasp my attention?
- What would I like to do more of?
- If I had zero preparation for a 30-minute assessment in which all I had to do was talk about one topic, what topic would I choose?
Have a read and answer them for yourself.
In the twofold interest of firstly inspiring you to do the same, and secondly further clarifying my raisons d’être – I have recorded my answers below. Answering the questions certainly helped to clarify my interests and sensible work-life direction.
What kinds of articles, videos or people grasp my attention?
- Personal Growth – mindset
- Mindfulness – meditation and breathwork
- Self-knowledge – personality typing & self-knowledge quizzes
- Lifestyle – simple living
- Philosophy – how to live a good life
- Life advice – wise sayings
- Creative beauty – inspiring well-written fiction
- Nature’s beauty – images of the wild places
- Parenting advice
- Food – Mediterranean recipe books and simple healthy cooking
- Appreciation of others skills – dance, singing & skipping videos
What would I like to do more of?
- Have FUN – sing and dance
- Spend time in nature – specifically hike in the mountains
- Be social – have friends over
- Be adventurous – go to new places
- Broaden my perspective – travel
- Uplift my lifestyle – quality and comfort at home, in clothes
- Eat healthy palate-tingling food
If I had zero preparation for a 30-minute assessment in which all I had to do was talk about one topic, what topic would I choose?
- I could talk about LIFESTYLE – improving our quality of life through
- simple living and
- habit change
- I could chat about PARENTING – my parenting journey and my children
- I could go on and on about PERSONAL GROWTH – and the tools I have used on my journey so far –
- meditation,
- writing,
- stretching,
- running,
- hydrating,
- studying digital skills in a supportive community,
- creating meaningful work,
- taking self-care for real,
- building my self-confidence up, and
- practising self-acceptance in all of it.
- I could get descriptive about the beauty of nature,
- in colour,
- texture
- scent, and
- sensation
- I could tell travel stories about Africa and Europe and Thanksgiving in Manhattan
How could I benefit the world?
It seems there are a few categories which emerged for me, mostly to do with lifestyle and personal growth.
- Lifestyle Inspiration
- practical – simple living lifestyle advice
- theoretical – living a good life philosophy
- Personal Inspiration
- Personal growth support from experience
- Light Inspiration
- sharing images of nature’s beauty
- having fun – singing, dancing and being social
How could YOU benefit the world?
Have a go at answering the questions to find out.
The more I learn, the more I believe we all have a unique role in life. I also have come to believe that we are here to share it with others.
I haven’t got my head around the mysteries of the universe or God or human purpose.
But I do think part of a good life is to live with a certain level of self-knowledge and self-acceptance, and enough confidence to share some of ourselves with people who might be interested, or who might even benefit.
Sometimes we say something small and simple, which can trigger a large and exhilarating life change in someone else.
We don’t always know when we are adding value to someone else’s life experience.
But we do know that if we don’t share it, others could miss out on our value.
So be curious. Find out what makes you tick.
And be brave. Share some of you with the world.
You might just change someone’s life!
You might just find your life purpose!
For more wise quotes about living a good simple beautiful life – please consider following me on Instagram. I promise a lot of beautiful pics of my local ocean and skies (and sometimes my pups).
Thanks for reading.
