Use Questions to Find Your Purpose

There’s a question – a class of questions, really – that clarifies your life’s goals. They sound trivial, but don’t judge them. Judging uses the wrong part of your brain for this exercise. In the right context, these questions can trigger new ideas that reshape the way you think about your future.

It’s a strange thing, feeling stuck and unsure of your purpose. Don’t get me wrong – it’s so common, it’s practically universal. But it’s strange that your mind wouldn’t know what fulfils it. You have many blindspots with the eye that looks inward. Even so, it’s a curious lapse on self-awareness.

So don’t be surprised if the solution is equally strange and curious. Don’t think about how it couldn’t possibly work – that sort of thinking created your mental block in the first place.

I make no promises about this technique. If you approach it with the right attitude, you can find your life’s purpose. Imagine knowing – not deciding, but truly knowing – what you should be doing with your life. Waking up each morning, driven by your clarity of mission. And how would you act differently if you knew you could find a new purpose if ever you needed to?

This technique works by putting you in a hypnotic trance, but maybe not the way you might expect.

Gather a small group of people who you trust, maybe four or six in total. Take it in turns to answer questions like:

What did you enjoy doing as a child?

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What’s a problem with the world that bothers you more than it bothers other people?

If you could change something about the world with a push of a button, what would you change?

If you knew that you were guaranteed to succeed, what would you do with your life? Why?

Those questions go from easier to harder, so start at the top if you need a warmup. Let everyone get the chance to answer and give people the chance to ask each other questions. The more people elaborate, the deeper the answers become. Whether you have rules around interruptions or timing is up to you, but aim for fewer rules and a more flowing process.

The first few answers might be awkward or superficial. That’s okay. Keep moving round the group. Give everyone the chance to add to their answers or tackle different questions. New ideas will pop up.

If these questions sound boring to you, that’s because you’re alone. Add a group of people who start building on each other’s answers, and you have something very different: the recipes for a powerful hypnotic trance. Don’t believe me? Give it a go and notice just how strange the world looks after. And who knows – you might just have an insight that changes your future.

Of course, you don’t need other people with you to enter a trance. It helps if you’re new to it, that’s all. Another approach is to listen to hypnotic guided meditations – the sort on the Awakened Thought page. The library grows every month, so bookmarking it is worth your time.

Wander over and have a glimpse:

https://guided-thought.com/awakened-thought/