This 5-minute exercise could help you find your purpose

One of Mark Twain’s most famous quotes is, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Profound, it can also be perplexing. We all have a purpose in life but discovering it can often feel like an overwhelming quest.

It’s actually quite simple, says Mary Morrissey, founder of the life-coaching center Brave Thinking Institute and author of, Brave Thinking: The Art and Science of Creating a Life You Love.

“Unless there’s some kind of narcissism or imbalance, human beings feel more alive when they know they’re making a difference,” she says. “They want their life to have meaning. If we unpack the components that lead us to knowing, we can live our purpose.”

Unfortunately, many of us don’t understand the components of what guides you in choosing work that bring a sense of purpose. To discover it, Morrissey recommends examining the four circles in your life, which make up the Japanese term, ikigai.

The Four Circles of Life

“In Japanese, iki means life and gai means your value,” she says. “Ikigai is your reason for being. When the four areas of life come together in the work that you’re doing, you come alive. You have deep meaning and purpose in what your life is about.”

The first of the four circles is your profession. It’s the work you’re paid to do, but it has a caveat, says Morrissey. “The work you’re doing must involve growth and development, such as learning new things and achieving goals,” she says. “If you feel progression or accomplishment during the day, you get that ‘well done’ feeling inside of you.”

The second circle is passion. This is what you love to do. Passion is an idea you care about that brings impact. “Rather than chasing purpose, purpose reveals itself to you with passion,” says Morrissey.

In his book, The Prophet, author Kahlil Gibran calls work “love made visible.” “When you love what you’re doing,” says Morrissey, “you’ll have more passion for it, and you’ll be more creative. It pulls us as much as we try to push something into existence. It’s both hands.”

The third circle is your vocation, which is what you’re good at doing. Vocation is using your talents and gifts.

“These things come easy to you and make the work feel effortless,” says Morrissey. “Your unique talents and gifts are like flashlights on your path because they show you a major part of your life that is working.”

The fourth circle is mission. This is the thing you contribute to the world that others need. Your mission is a sense that there’s real impact and significance in the work you’re doing.

“A teacher knows they’re teaching a child to learn,” says Morrissey. “A gardener grows plants that make places beautiful and provide spaces of calm for others.”

A Simple Exercise

The intersection of the four circles is where ikigai, your purpose, resides. To find yours, Morrissey suggests getting a blank piece of paper and giving yourself the gift of quiet.

“Turn off your cell phone, find a place where you can be comfortable with either a notebook or journal,” she says. “Then ask yourself this question, What am I doing when I have felt most alive?”

As the ideas come to you, write them down. Continue for at least five minutes or longer if you need more time.

“Once you’ve got a list, look for themes,” says Morrissey. “Maybe, maybe it is being in nature. Maybe it is drawing houses. It doesn’t have to be what you’re doing for income right now. You just want to know where do most come alive.”

Next, imagine what possible work you could do or start that would harness your natural interests. Look for things that would be congruent with making a difference and benefiting others. And find activities that offer space for growth.

For example, Morrissey coached a woman who felt unfulfilled at work. Her hobby was planting flowers from seeds and creating beautiful hanging baskets. She eventually left her job and started a garden nursery, where she later taught classes and held events.

Finding your purpose doesn’t have to be hard, says Morrissey, but avoiding the process has consequences. “Versions of unlived purpose will show themselves to you as problems, difficulties, and diseases,” she says. “They become things that try to get your attention, telling you that there’s more life wanting to be lived.”

When you know and live your purpose, though, you wake up looking forward to the day, says Morrissey. “You’re not just dialing it in,” she says. “You are thrilled about what you’re doing, knowing that, at the end of that day, you contributed in some way to what you’re really about.”