How to Find Your Purpose

When you quit playing video games it’s easy to feel a void in your life. Initially you think that void is in how you spend your time, but the truth is the void is in the meaning of your life.

When you were gaming you had a strong sense of purpose because of the way games are structured for you to progress. But now that you’ve quit, how do you find your purpose? Press play and find out:

Struggling to find your sense of purpose is something that I’ve personally struggled with too. I remember feeling so frustrated every time someone suggested for me to find my purpose because I knew the advice was correct but I didn’t know how to actually do it!

And I believe this happens because of the way the statement is phrased, which causes two issues: Find your purpose.

1. Find your purpose.

The first mistake we make when we’re trying to find our purpose is that we think we’re supposed to just find it, like it’s some magical thing out there in the world for us to discover.

Now this isn’t entirely inaccurate (especially the “discover” part)… but what I’ve found happens is that we end up waiting around for our purpose to find us, instead of taking action and choosing our purpose.

You don’t find your purpose, you choose your purpose.

2. Find your purpose.

The next mistake we make is that because the word “purpose” is singular, it appears to us as though we only have one purpose instead of being able to have many. So if we have different interests, we get stuck trying to pick one thing.

Our purpose is not one thing, it can be many things. Our purpose evolves over time and it can change. Don’t get too caught up in having to know your purpose right now, allow it to evolve over time as you gain more clarity by taking action towards the things that you’re interested in.

What to do next

Instead of getting overwhelmed with trying to figure out what your grand sense of purpose for your entire life is right now, break your purpose into smaller segments.

What is your purpose for the next year? Next month? What about this week? Today?

When you break it down it’s easier to take action on because you’re not so overwhelmed. Overwhelm breeds frustration, kills motivation and creates inertia.

Breaking things down into smaller steps helps you bypass overwhelm. When you break it down into smaller steps, you can have a great day, today, and use that momentum to build progress over time.

Next, now that you’re beginning to take action on the things that you’re interested in, pay attention to what it is, specifically, that you enjoy about these different things. This will help you gain more clarity. You can also focus on what you don’t want to do.

My three major goals

A few years ago I realized I had three major goals: I wanted to be happy, I wanted to be in the best shape possible and I wanted to create an impact.

This became my purpose, this became my vision. I used this vision to guide my actions, and began to study more about positive psychology, fitness and nutrition and business.

Game Quitters is the project I launched to accomplish my third major goal.

Let your vision guide you, not your current circumstances.

Think about where you want to go. Think about what your vision is, and choose a timeline that suits you. That can be a year from now, a month from now, this week or even today. The timeframe isn’t as important as just having something to focus on, and then allowing it to grow and expand as you gain more clarity.

Finding your sense of purpose is all about learning more about yourself.

Think about this

Right now you’ve just quit playing video games and now you’re feeling a bit confused and lost. You’re lacking meaning in your life.

But you’re on a mission right now to redefine your life. You’re on a mission to create a new life for yourself. And that is your sense of purpose!

It’s about learning how to make new friends. It’s about learning how to be happy again. It’s about learning how to find your passions. It’s about learning how to live a meaningful life.

And in this process you’ll learn more about yourself, you’ll gain more clarity and you’ll find a greater sense of purpose.

So this is all happening right now. Continue to do the work and you’ll get the results you’re looking for.

I hope that helps, and if it does I’d love to hear what your purpose is today, this week, this month, this year, whatever timeframe you choose in the comments below.

P.S. If you are still playing games but you want to quit right now, check out Respawn.