The Ultimate Purpose Finder: 32 Soul-Searching Questions for True Clarity
Because Life’s Too Short to Live Someone Else’s Story
In a noisy world full of expectations, distractions, and pre-packaged definitions of success, it's easy to lose sight of what actually matters to you. Finding your purpose isn't about chasing what looks good on paper — it's about getting honest with yourself. It’s about peeling back the layers, confronting the truths you’ve avoided, and daring to ask questions most people never do. The 32 questions below aren't designed to hand you easy answers — they’re designed to shake the dust, stir the soul, and guide you back to your inner compass.
Ready to meet yourself?
Is my life my own?
Am I living to fulfil the truest expression of self, guided by my own beliefs and values, or is my life all about duty and the expectations of others? Am I playing everyone else's game, or have I made my own?
Are you living by fear or love?
Are you motivated by the pull of things that you find joy in and bring out the best in you and others? Or are you reacting to the fear of being hurt, shamed, or rejected?
Are you pointed in the direction of your true north?
Do you know yourself well enough and are bold enough not to be steered by the prevailing winds of the tribe, the culture, and your family? Have you set your compass on what is important to you, what you love, and what brings you the most joy in a way that brings the most good for others?
What are your core values?
Take the time to learn your core values, and be guided by them if you aren't already. Ensuring that they are values of the true expression of self and not just what is expected.
What brings the most meaning to your life?
What brings the most fulfilment? What is your light when everything goes dark? What will you not so much die for but live for?
What problems do you need to address?
What issues, behaviours, and beliefs do you need to address and overcome for you to be able to live a purposeful, happy, healthy life?
What is it that you fear?
Is there something you want to accomplish, become, or overcome but are fearful? Identify the fear, explore it, and build resilience to know that you'll be fine whatever happens.
What is lacking in your life?
What areas of life do you feel most unfulfilled? Be honest with yourself. Be open to change and bring new dimensions to your life.
What puts you in a flow state?
What activities have you done or do where time just passes without you even realising because your focus is 100% on the task?
What has brought you the most joy in the past?
Sometimes, life gets stale, and we hit a wall; sometimes, looking backward and seeing what brought out the best in you in earlier periods is good.
How do you want to show your care and responsibility?
Without a certain amount of care and responsibility for others, we become isolated and begin to feel we do not have anything to offer; what do you offer, how can you help, and what is your gift to the community and the world?
What are your strengths and weaknessess?
On the journey and with the dance of life, it is good to be clear about what our strengths actually are so we can lean into them and to know our weaknesses so we can bolster them or work around them; to be honest about them, so we are not fooling ourselves to feel okay, sometimes feedback in this area is helpful.
What are you good at?
Where have your wins come from in the past, no matter how minor? What are you confident about doing well, and what has given you the best results?
What do you think will have mattered the most on your deathbed?
Answering this question helps ensure we don't neglect the things that matter the most.
If you had no barriers, what would you change about yourself?
Is there anything that if you could change you would, then ask yourself what are the barriers to that change and how can I overcome them?
What would you really like to achieve?
Thinking about the years ahead and your lifetime, what is the one thing you want to achieve above all else?
Who are your role models?
Do you have any role models, what do you see in them that you really like and appreciate, this can give you insight into what you want for yourself and aspire to become.
What do you get jealous of?
Thinking of the people in your life who you are jealous of and compete with, what is it about them that makes you that way? Do you want that for yourself? Is it good to have it for yourself? Is it something external that validates them, or something internal that shows something about their abilities or character?
Who is most important to you?
Sometimes, we get into situations where we feel we must please or be liked by everyone; who truly matters and double down on them? Sometimes, less is more when it comes to meaningful connections.
What does getting outside your comfort zone mean to you?
What would that be if I were to push past fear and resistance into something more? Outside your comfort zone is where growth occurs, outside order on the edge of chaos, the unknown, where failure is an option; how can you step out into that with a safety rope attached?
What am I pretending not to know?
Which parts are you being intentionally ignorant about? What bubble do you need to burst to get to the heart of your truth?
If I stopped trying to impress anyone, what would I do differently?
Life is one big status game for many of us, leaving us in constant competition with others. What would you do differently if you lived life like nobody was watching? Be honest; who would you be if you weren't trying to hold up an image of yourself? That's the real you.
What am I unwilling to feel — and what is that costing me?
Sit with that feeling no matter how uncomfortable, and accept and be and know you're okay; on the other side is the more authentic version of yourself, more attached to intuition and a higher understanding of yourself.
What lies have I built my life around?
It may be to protect your image, to put a comfortable layer over your trauma, or so you don't have to meet your responsibilities and expectations; it's time to get real.
What would I do if success was guaranteed?
What would it be? Then ask yourself, are you only not doing it because you fear failure, or how that failure would look to others? If those two are barriers, it's time to overcome them; failure is not the end but part of the process.
What kind of life would make my younger self proud of me and my older self grateful?
After thinking about that question, know that whatever changes you need to make, and wherever you are now, you are not off course; this is part of the journey.
What am I overcomplicating that is actually quite simple?
As we grow past the stage of trying everything, we get to the stage of consolidation; some future selves have to die for the best future self to survive, and that means letting go of parts of ourselves that no longer serve us, and working out how to simplify and pare back and what to drop, give up or put away so we can flourish and become.
What do I love enough to do badly?
What brings you so much joy and satisfaction that the results are secondary?
What am I naturally drawn to even when I try to quit it?
What do you keep returning to because it provides an overwhelming sense of satisfaction?
What's one truth I need to accept to grow?
To get past where your at and become more, what is the uncomfortable truth you have been unwilling to accept?
What am I sacrificing — and is it worth it?
We all have to make sacrifices, but some are more costly than what we sacrificed them for.
What's missing, not because it's out of reach but because I haven't prioritised it?
Exercise is a good example of something many don't prioritise, but everything else becomes easier when we do.
You’re Not Lost — You’re Becoming
Clarity doesn’t always arrive in lightning bolts. Sometimes it comes in the form of a quiet shift — a deeper knowing, a growing sense that you’re finally facing the right direction. These questions aren’t a checklist to rush through; they’re invitations to reflect, journal, and revisit often. You don’t need to have it all figured out, but if you’re asking better questions, you’re already moving forward. You’re not lost — you’re in the process of becoming. And that’s purpose enough, for now.