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'What is MY purpose in life?' The emphasis on 'my' makes this question both more specific and more urgent than asking about life purpose generally. You're not looking for a philosophical treatise. You're looking for personal direction. Something that makes sense of your specific combination of experiences, skills, wounds, and opportunities. This question often arises during transitions or crises. When what you've been doing stops feeling sufficient. When you look around at others who seem purposeful and wonder why you feel adrift. When success by conventional standards still leaves you feeling empty. The good news: if you're asking this question, you're already on the path to answering it. The question itself is a form of clarity. You're acknowledging that purpose matters to you, that you want your life to count for something beyond mere survival.
Ikigai provides a practical framework for discovering YOUR specific purpose in life, not purpose in the abstract. It starts with a powerful assumption: your purpose already exists within you, waiting to be uncovered. You don't have to invent it or force it. You have to notice it. The clues are everywhere: in what consistently captures your attention, in what people ask you for help with, in what problems bother you enough that you think about solutions, in what activities make you lose track of time. These aren't random data points—they're your purpose trying to get your attention. Ikigai teaches that your purpose sits at the intersection of four circles. Where what you love meets what you're good at meets what the world needs meets what you can be paid for. Most people have explored one or two of these circles. The magic happens when you explore all four simultaneously and find where they overlap. That overlap point is your unique purpose in life.
Your purpose in life specifically emerges from this four-circle analysis. Start with what you love. Not what you think you should love or what sounds impressive, but what genuinely engages you. Maybe you love solving puzzles, or making people laugh, or creating order from chaos, or learning how things work. Get specific. Next, assess what you're good at. This includes both trained skills and natural talents. Often your greatest gifts are invisible to you because they're so effortless. Ask people who know you well: 'What do I make look easy?' You'll be surprised. Then, examine what the world needs. This can operate at any scale—what your family needs, your community, your industry, humanity. What problems do you see that you wish someone would solve? That 'someone' might be you. Finally, research what can sustain you economically. This isn't selling out—it's being responsible. What economic ecosystems exist around your interests? How do others monetize similar skills? Your purpose in life is found where all four circles intersect. This intersection might be immediately obvious, or it might require months of experimentation to discover. Both are valid paths.
To discover what YOUR purpose in life is specifically, start with a 'purpose audit.' For one week, track every activity and rate it on four scales: How much did this engage me? How good am I at this? How much does this help others? Could this ever sustain me financially? At the end of the week, look for activities that scored high on multiple scales. These point toward your purpose. Next, do 'purpose interviews.' Talk to five people in your life and ask: 'What do you think I'm meant to do?' 'What unique contribution do you see me making?' 'When have you seen me most alive?' Their outside perspective often sees patterns you can't. Then, create 'purpose hypotheses.' Based on your audit and interviews, write three statements: 'My purpose might be to [specific contribution] for [specific people] using [specific skills].' For example: 'to create educational content for career-changers using my writing skills and career experience.' 'To improve workplace culture for small businesses using my empathy and organizational design skills.' Make these concrete, not vague. Finally, test one hypothesis through a small project. Don't quit your job or make drastic changes. Just commit 5-10 hours to trying it. See how it feels. Adjust and try again.
1. When people come to you for help, what are they usually seeking?
2. What type of impact would feel most fulfilling to you?
3. If you could master one more skill to amplify your impact, it would be:
Your personal purpose likely involves {personal_purpose_direction}. The full assessment reveals your detailed purpose map.
Take the Full Ikigai Assessment →Your purpose in life is uniquely yours—no one else can live it, and you can't live anyone else's. The Ikigai framework helps you uncover your specific purpose by systematically examining your passions, skills, values, and opportunities. Our comprehensive assessment guides you through this discovery process with precision, revealing patterns you can't see on your own. Stop wondering and start knowing. Take the Ikigai assessment to discover what your purpose in life is.
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Part of the Life Purpose Question Series by Ikigain