Learn how to design a life with purpose in four easy steps, or your money back! Well, unfortunately it’s not that easy; you can’t buy your way to a life with more purpose.

 But often, impactful change begins with the smallest shift in a way of thinking — a mindset adjustment.

 You see, finding purpose in life often sends people down different paths with unique experiences. Even so, many people never search for their “calling” out of fear for the unknown and uncertainty towards success. If we have your attention it’s time to listen up. These four steps will help you live with a purpose while making every second count.  

Think Less Act More

From childhood you’re repeatedly told to think through thoughts before taking action. And rightfully so, it’s easy to make mistakes in life, especially as a young adult. But there comes a time when thinking too much can be a nuisance to finding happiness; this is one of those times.

You can’t think your way into a purposeful life, it just won’t get the job done. You have to design your way. Uncovering the things in life that make you “tick” require action. By accepting that designing  is stronger than thinking, you can be well on your way in this process. It also means that all of the “what-ifs” in the world are irrelevant to your life.

Get started by creating a Pinterest board (any digital mood board will do) for each of your goals. Every time you discover a source of motivation, save it to the board as a visual reminder; even snap a photo and upload it as needed. It’s a fun way to consistently visualize what you’re about and it’s always accessible when inspiration strikes. Whether it’s via ipad, phone or computer — your goals will travel with you. These goals will become more personal as you build out each board, offering some clarity on why you are “designing.” Furthermore, they will provide direction on how to continually move forward with action rather than thought — don’t stop, keep doing the design thinking and open the door to a life of possibility rather than limitations.

Test Your Passion

Living a life with purpose and following your passion are two closely related concepts that fuel each other, yet are not the same. This quote helps to better understand the passion vs. purpose relationship: “Purpose is the reason for the journey, passion is the fire that lights the way.

” In other words, to live with purpose, follow your passions as they will often lead you in the right direction to live ‘on purpose’.

Lighting the fire that illuminates the way — a.k.a. your passion — takes some initial groundwork, or testing as we like to call it. Similar to the world’s most successful athletes, you have to practice in order to succeed. Ask yourself these three questions to identify what drives you:

1. What do I love to do with my time?

2. How can I add value to the world?

3. What am I good at?

It’s important to think these answers through. Try your best to not allow life restraints to limit your thinking. This could be a prime opportunity to volunteer your time at a place of interest while learning how to pay it forward.

Once you have your honest answers, it’s time to test! Do something in your life related to the answers you collected. This is you “designing” versus thinking. By volunteering in a certain field, accepting a new job, or even reading a new book, you are initiating the search for a purpose. Finding a balance or happiness won’t happen immediately, and you can expect more than one occasion of error but this only makes the end goal that much more fulfilling. You can’t have a ying without a yang, and there’s no magic number of attempts at  right or wrong, only experiences that will reveal where and when you fit into the world.

 More Heart Less Brain

Where does love come from? Your heart, of course!

Finding your passion means doing what you love, and doing what you love is a very effective method for living and designing a life with purpose. You see, it’s all starting to make sense. Exploring a life with purpose means leading from the heart and not allowing your brain to get in the way.

The heart is the command center for the entire body, and knows what’s best for you. The more you listen to it, the more inspiration will enter your life. As you test and identify the things that bring you joy, it’s the heart that alerts you when you’ve got it right; the ultimate system of checks and balances. This interconnectedness allows the inspiration to flow freely, both inward to the soul and outward into the world.   

Learn a new skill and repeat

In living a purposeful life, there is no room for thinking that you are meant to do only one thing in life. By focusing on one passion, you are limiting your world to a narrow scope, and will continue to seek more than what you have. Instead, embrace the uncertainty of life and be open to the idea that you have multiple passions to indulge in.  

 Learning new skills is an effective way to get in touch with the activities that fuel your creativity and inspiration. They can be seemingly simple like advancing your writing, or more technical such as designing a website. And why limit yourself to the indoors, get outside with surfing, hiking, running, cycling… or try them all! The more you do the more you know and the more you can learn about yourself. And most importantly, by adding more passion to life you will have more to act upon.

Living a life with purpose from this moment on, will require you to do more, test your passions, lead with your heart, and learn new skills. The more attention you pay to these ideas, the more connected you will become to the human experience. After all, what is living if you can’t understand what you’re living for? The more of a passion-filled life you seek out the greater your ability to live a life filled with purpose, on purpose. Are you ready design your way?