Step 6: Living With Purpose
Aligning your life with what truly matters
There’s a quiet question that lives in most of us:
Why am I here?
What is my purpose?
Even if we don’t say it out loud, we feel it. A desire to live a life that matters. To feel aligned. To feel like we’re moving in the right direction. And yet, purpose can feel elusive—like something we’re supposed to figure out before we begin. But what if that’s not how it works?
Purpose Isn’t Found All at Once
Purpose isn’t something you arrive at one day, fully formed.
It’s something you uncover—by the way you choose to live each day.
You discover this in various ways, primarily through what you care about, like what moves you and through what you return to again and again. It’s less like a single destination…and more like something that reveals itself over time. But I have found that purpose feels like a twinkle within. Something that feels bigger in your heart-space when you become attuned to it. It feels undeniably like joy, but it doesn’t live in moments of spontaneity. It lives in the daily practice of the rituals you create and cultivate each day.
There was a time when I thought purpose was something I needed to go out and find. But some of the clearest moments of purpose in my life didn’t come from searching. They came from showing up. From being of service. From connecting with people. From offering something—time, presence, care—without needing it to be anything more. And in those moments, something opened.
A sense of aliveness.
A sense of connection.
A sense that I was exactly where I needed to be.
Purpose often lives there. Not in the pressure to figure it all out— but in the willingness to engage with what’s in front of you.
What Matters Comes First
A life with direction begins with something simple: Getting clear on what matters.
If you are feeling disconnected from the direction you would like to take your life, great questions to ask yourself can be: What do I value? What kind of person do I want to be? What feels meaningful to me—not because it looks good, but because it feels true? Because once that becomes clear, your life begins to organize around it. Your choices and energy. The direction you move….all starts to align.
Intention, Vision, Action
We often think purpose is something big. And of course one’s purpose can be grand and potentially impact many people. But the truth is that it’s built in something much more grounded.
Intention.
Vision.
Daily action.
Intention is what you choose to align with. Vision is the direction you’re moving toward. Action is how you live it—every day. Without action, intention stays only as an idea. Without vision and clarity, action loses direction. But when all three align—something shifts. Life begins to feel less scattered…and much more intentional.
Sometimes I think we hear the word intention too often. And I think sometimes that its definition has gotten muddied. Because intention alone doesn’t create change.
Alignment does.
It’s the difference between saying you want something…and living in a way that supports it. When your thoughts, your choices, and your actions begin aligning with what matters to you—Life starts to feel different.
Clearer.
More directed.
More true.
And purpose begins to feel less like something you’re chasing…and more like something you’re living.
A Gentle Reflection
Even though getting clear on your purpose can take time, I have found that Instead of asking,
“Have I found my purpose?”
it has been much more helpful to ask:
What matters most to me right now?
Am I living in alignment with that?
What is one small way I can show up more fully today?
Because purpose isn’t built someday. It’s built in the way you choose to live—one decision, one action, one moment at a time.