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How can I identify my central purpose?

I understand the importance of a central purpose to organize my values and pursuits. However, I'm not sure how to identify what my central purpose is. Is it just my career -- or something broader than that?

Anonymous , 24.04.2012, 18:18
Idea status: completed

Comments

Arthur Russell, 02.10.2012, 07:42
There is no overarching "objective" means to discover your central purpose. Being a subjective thing, you are physically and mentally predisposed to find it if you seek out those things which give you pleasure. The only thing that anyone can really recommend, based on this, is to try as many things as possible, and continue those you enjoy, cease those things which either you do not enjoy or that make it difficult to live your life and pursue the other things you enjoy.
Tjitze de Boer, 14.03.2013, 11:59
I'm currently reading "I could do anything if I only knew what it was" by Barbera Sher, it has some great stuff relevant to this.
And I'm not even half way into it.
Ron, 18.08.2013, 09:30
Start by questioning whether there is or should be such a thing as a "central" purpose. Many philosophers over thousands of years have wasted a lot of time on such a question. Any one thing that has been proposed has been found flawed or incomplete. There is no one path or objective that will complete your life.

Having said that, if you sit down and seriously think about it for twenty to ninety minutes, you will come up with something that will get you on the road to greater fulfillment.

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