7 Mental Signs You Might’ve Finally Found Your Purpose

#6. Time turns from enemy into ally, then into enemy again.

I’ll be honest with you. You don’t need to find your purpose to live a happy and fulfilled life — but it sure makes things a lot easier.

There’ll still be ups and downs, highs and lows, amenities and adversities. You won’t run out of struggles, but this time, you’ve got a good reason to fight through.

However, you won’t wake up one morning with a flash of genius, screaming “Eureka!” and saving the world in between a bulletproof coffee and the 8 am news.

Your path isn’t straight. There are no big, red arrows marking the way. You’ll get lost and take detours, just like me.

As a kid, I wanted to become a doctor, a lawyer, and a volcanologist, which would’ve made for an interesting combination. But instead of putting a stethoscope on volcanos and giving them legal advice about the best time to break out, I studied business.

Six years of university and cubicle time later, I realized the corporate world wasn’t for me. I went back to square one and took a shot at writing, and later, coaching. This for sure won’t be the end — who knows what’s down the line.

Despite the zig-zag path, I got to a point where I enjoy getting up every day. I’m not jumping with excitement once my alarm goes off — people who are that fit in the morning downright scare me — but I’m doing meaningful work. I have a reason to get up.

Discovering your purpose can be a tricky process, and you’ll need some guide rails to keep you going. Here are 7 signs you’ve found your purpose or are at least making progress towards it.

#1. You Have More Energy Even Though You Work Harder

The mental gymnastics of work can be exhausting. Some days, my brain feels like a big bowl of gooey gray soup incapable of stringing together words into a coherent construction.

But as exhausting as your work is, as energizing it can be. Your intrinsic motivation and drive spread to other areas of your life like a bushfire, igniting the flame.

Once you’ve taken up speed, you’ll feel like the only thing able to stop you is a bazooka.

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.”

— Howard Thurman

#2. What You Do Feels Natural

I’d be lying if I said my life is all sunshine and rainbows, everything drops into my lap, and all I have to do is just sit there, mouth wide open like an adult movie actress, tasting enjoyment and bliss.

Your life gets easier, but you’ll still struggle with the usual problems. You’ll still need to get up early, put in the hours, and pay extra for the guacamole at Chipotle.

But this time, you’ll have a good reason to do so. There’ll be less and less work you don’t enjoy and more and more you do. What you do will feel right.

You won’t have to talk yourself into doing something. Like walking, you’ll put one foot in front of the other without thinking too much about it.

#3. You Say “I Get To” Instead of “I Have To”

I visited my family over the weekend. Food was plenty, but sleep was scarce. The circles under my eyes were as dark as the winter sky when my alarm rang.

But when you’ve found your purpose, it doesn’t matter how tired you are. You’ll be excited for the day ahead. You’ll look at your to-do list and say I get to do instead of I have to do.

It’s a simple, but powerful shift. You’ll experience intrinsic instead of extrinsic motivation, which replaces snoozing your alarm with wanting to get out of bed.

#4. You Care About What You Do

I did a few internships at big corporations. They offered pretty much anything an employee can wish for. Flexible hours, free coffee, home office, and surprisingly good pay.

But something was amiss, like an expired ingredient that turns an otherwise delicious dish sour. My work wasn’t meaningful. The spreadsheets didn’t care.

To feel like you matter, you have to do something that matters to you.

You contribute to something bigger, whatever that may be. And it’s this contribution that will keep you going no matter what.

Life won’t always be sunshine and rainbows, but you’ll have a reason to weather the storm and get up again after you’ve been knocked down.

When you’ve found your purpose, you’ll see that reason in front of you, bright and clear. Your work will feel important to you — because it is.

“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”

— Friedrich Nietzsche

#5. Money Turns from a Goal into a Byproduct

First things first: I’m not allergic to money. I have dreams that will take lots of cash to fulfill. We all do.

But for many people, money has become the primary reason to work. They slave away for hours every day, then blow all their hard-earned Benjamins on distractions from the very work that made them miserable to begin with.

Money is an extrinsic motivation — a reward for something else. Intrinsic motivation is different — the joy comes from within.

But extrinsic undermines intrinsic motivation. If you focus too much on money, you’ll lose the motivation to work.

I’ve worked a bunch of different jobs, from picking fruit on a farm in sweltering heat, overfilling spreadsheets in an air-conditioned office, to writing and coaching people from the comfort of my own home. I’ve slept under bridges and in million-dollar mansions. Here’s what I learned and swore to never forget.

Never do a job just for the money.

“We have entered a new age of fulfillment, in which the great dream is to trade up from money to meaning.”

— Roman Krznaric

#6. Time Turns from Enemy into Ally, Then into Enemy Again

In my old jobs, the clock was my biggest enemy. From the moment I walked into the office, I counted the hours until I’d be free again.

I took every opportunity to catch toilet breaks, grab a coffee, or chat with my coworkers about the recipe for the perfect banana bread.

When you’ve found your purpose, you’ll stop looking for ways to waste your time. Not only at work, but you’ll also consume less media and other meaningless entertainment. You’ve got something better to do.

While time at work seemed to drag on and on like a chewing gum stuck to your shoe, you now are grateful for it. Then, you realize 24 hours aren’t nearly enough to do everything you want to do.

Time will go from enemy to ally to enemy. But this time it’s because you want your days to be longer, not shorter.

“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”

— Seth Godin

#7. You Become a Better Version of Yourself Without Even Trying

There is no universal reality.

Your truth depends entirely on your perspective. You can be happy as a clam with nothing, or down in the dumps even though you have everything.

Purpose gives your life perspective. When you have something worth living for, it shows.

You’ll be less negative because you don’t carry around the crushing weight of existential crisis in the back of your head all the time.

Everything seems a little better. The people will be nicer, the air cleaner, and the sun warmer. It’s an almost imperceptible feeling of elevation, but it propels you to new heights.

You develop a better character and relationships and are in a better mood. You carry the sun in your heart and it lightens up everyone and everything around you. Life is good.

When you’ve found purpose, you become a better version of yourself.

“Whoever is happy will make others happy too.”

— Anne Frank

Don’t Forget to Breathe

There are two sides to every coin, and your purpose is no exception.

Over the last months, I got so immersed in my work I pushed everything else onto the back burner.

Friends’ messages started piling up, I only met my roommates for a quick chat in the kitchen while making breakfast, and even though I hate to admit it, I’ve missed a workout or two. When you’ve found something that ignites your fire, it’s tempting to burn the candle from both ends.

Doing something with meaning and having a purpose is an incredible feeling. Because it’s so mesmerizing, it makes everything else a non-priority. You literally forget to eat and poop.

Your purpose propels you forward, but you have other needs as well. Your relationships need nurturing. Your body needs exercise and sleep. Your mind needs time off to regenerate and process.

Dive deep, but remember you need to come up for fresh air sometimes.

I help ambitious men find direction, create an authentic vision for a fulfilled life, and take actions to achieve their dreams. Sign up for my free 5-minute newsletter and become part of the Authentic Men Tribe!