To answer the question “how do you find your path in life?”, let me first clarify that finding your life path is otherwise much more important than finding your life purpose

When people talk about or research finding their life purpose, many of them have ideas about their actual life purpose, but they don’t know where or how to start. Others make a list of their passions, write down what they want to do or not do, but are unable to squeeze out a purpose. Or draw a conclusion from their life preferences about the direction they want to take in their lives. Finally, there are those who ask themselves “is this what I am supposed to be doing?

Overcome your fears through focus

When it comes to finding your life path, you will have to accept that facing challenges is part of the whole process, and one of those challenges is “fear.”Every now and then we face the fear of making the wrong choice, the fear of not being good enough and the fear of failure. This fear can lead to pain, embarrassment and confusion, and of course we don’t want that.

However, when you focus on how to find your path in life, your mind is less fixated on how things “should be”and on certain outcomes. Indeed, when you focus on your goal, you want it to be perfect, to be an expert at what you do, to work for the best company, to work with passion every day. However, when you focus on how to find your path in life, you are less focused on an outcome and so the barrier to change, the barrier to be perfect, to be good enough and to be accepted is less challenging. There is less pressure and less fear and therefore less resistance to change.

If you focus on how to find your life path, your purpose will develop over time and you will eventually discover your life purpose. This is the missing key that many personal development gurus and teachers have forgotten to tell you.

All too often, personal development gurus talk about finding your life purpose and that should be true, right? Wrong! You don’t actually need to focus on finding your purpose. Instead, “you need to focus on how to find your path in life”and that will lead you to your purpose.

Here are 24 questions you can ask yourself to determine your path in life!

1. Am I living in the moment?

Living in the moment is sometimes difficult in our go-go-go world. This is fine for things that matter less to the big picture, but not to the big picture itself. Go ahead and brush your teeth or take a shower on autopilot. Our brain is very comfortable in this setting. But have you ever driven to work and not remembered the journey at all? I’m sure you have, and that’s terrible when you think about it. Not only because of safety, but also because of the wonderful things you may have missed along the way.

2. Do I cherish every second with my loved ones?

Although this sounds like number one, it is actually quite different. Time is one of the most valuable things we have in this world. There is an old saying, “time is a gift.”Think of it as a precious gift from a loved one and you will cherish it with equal passion and importance.

3. Do I accept everything as a gift?

There are plenty of other gifts in life besides the time that blesses us every day. What gifts are part of your life? I bet something like good health or a loving family is the first thing you think of. Positive things are easy to think of as gifts.

But what about the not so obvious or even terrible things? Even something traumatizing like a life-threatening car accident can and should be seen as a gift. As Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots if you look ahead;you can only connect them if you look back. So you have to trust that the dots in your future will somehow be connected.”

4. Do I treat everyone with respect and kindness?

This is one of the most ignored self-reflection questions, but also one of the most important. You laugh at someone who cuts you off in traffic, you poke fun at a complete stranger’s clothing to a co-worker or you forget to say please and thank you to the cashier at the supermarket. Flip the script and imagine yourself on the receiving end of all that hurt, and you’ll see that it’s just not necessary.

5. Am I being harmful with my words or actions?

As with number four, many of us do bad habits with things that are harmful to others, and we don’t even realize it. Research on communication by Dr. Albert Mehrabian showed that we get 7% of the message from words, 38% from tone and 55% from body language.

Thinking about this before you speak or act really puts this question in perspective. Any word or action can be harmful if spoken with a harsh tone or offensive body language. Check your words and actions to make sure they are not taken in a harmful way.

6. Am I foolish?

Mr. T famously said in Rocky III, “I pity the fool!”when asked about his upcoming fight with Rocky Balboa. He went on to say that he felt sorry for Balboa because he was predictable and stupid. What are the areas in your life where you lack good judgment and are unwise?

7. How wasteful am I?

We live in a disposable society where things are thrown away in an instant. This waste does not always involve material objects, as we can also be wasteful with things like time and energy. Before you throw something away, material or otherwise, think about how you can fix it. You will be amazed at how easily you can fix things with the right attention.

8. Am I in a hurry?

We are too often focused on a destination that we fly through the process and don’t enjoy the journey along the way. We may miss crucial details, opportunities to learn or experiences with others. A mentor once said to me, “Don’t be in a hurry for anything.”These are wise words for all of us to live by every day.

9. Am I myself in all situations, no matter what?

Many of us find this challenging because we have our work personality and family personality. We are all wonderful individuals who are both flawed and wonderful. Don’t deprive yourself or others in your life of your “flawed”self.

10. Is my heart open?

When you live with an open heart, you allow all the amazing parts of life on earth to be a part of you as you connect with others in the universe. Don’t be afraid to be open to new possibilities in any facet of your life. You will be glad you did.

11. Do I take anything for granted?

Unfortunately, we often don’t realize this is happening until someone on the losing end, usually a loved one, points it out to us. Never take things for granted. Believe me, you never want to have regrets. By asking yourself many of the self-reflection questions on this list, hopefully you won’t.

12. Am I putting enough effort into my relationships?

This is another self-reflection question that others often answer for us by letting us know where we stand. Your answer to the question “How much does each person contribute to the relationship?”should be 100% and nothing less.

13. Do I allow myself to be stressed by things over which I have no control?

“Life consists 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react to it,”said author and educator Charles R. Swindoll. This quote highlights the role our attitude plays in life and whether we are negatively affected by things beyond our control. The more you accept what is happening and live by this quote, the happier you will be.

14. Do I take good care of myself physically?

You could easily associate self-reflection with mental and spiritual health, because it is considered inward. It is important to remember that we are truly at our best when our mind, soul and body are functioning optimally. This in itself is reason enough, without taking into account all the health benefits you get from taking good care of yourself.

15. Am I achieving the goals I set for myself?

A wise man once said, “A life without achieving your goals is not a life worth living.”He was certainly someone who accomplished a lot in his life. Goals are not only something to write down at the beginning of the year, but they also give your mind purpose and clarity.

16. What does a perfect day look like for me?

The beauty of this self-reflection question is that you can answer it in hundreds of different ways throughout your life. This also makes the question extra special. If you are feeling down, take a few minutes to answer this question for yourself and use more of the parts you come up with in your daily life.

17. Am I holding on to something that I need to let go of?

In the middle of this question you usually find some kind of forgiveness. If you answer this question honestly, you will realize that you need to forgive yourself or someone else. Please make sure this happens as soon as possible, because forgiveness is one of the most incredible things we can do in our lives.

18. When was the last time I pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone?

Living comfortably may sound nice at first, but it really means you are stagnant. To get the most out of life, you need to be constantly growing. So, feel uncomfortable and move beyond comfort.

19. What do I need to change about myself?

The subtle thing about this question is that it asks about “should”rather than “want.”Many of us get caught up in wanting to do things but never putting them into action. If something is important enough, it becomes a need, which means it gets done. Needs lead to action, and action leads to change.

20. dien ik others?

You can get everything you want in life. You only have to help enough other people to get what they want. This is one of the secrets of an abundant life. Serve others and you will both reap the benefits of goodwill.

21. Who has had the greatest influence on my life?

Thinking about one’s life would not be complete without realizing the impact of others. We have all had someone who steered us in the right direction when we needed it most, whether we knew it or not. Acknowledge them in your heart and in their ears by expressing gratitude for taking the wheel when it was needed.

22. Do I have a goal?

Ask the most successful people in the world what is most important to them and they will tell you that it is not wealth, fame or power, but purpose. When you have purpose, you are fulfilled, and a fulfilled life is worth living.

23. What is the one thing I want others to remember about me at the end of my life?

This is a question that is usually not thought about until someone is in the last phase of their life, because it is usually related to question 22. Be proactive and ask yourself this question. Be proactive in life and ask yourself this self-reflection question early enough to make that “one thing”your mission.

24. Am I the best version of myself?

This question seems difficult to answer at first glance, but it really isn’t. Ask yourself every other question on this list first and you’re sure to have your answer to this one.