Five Questions to Ask When You Need Help Finding Your Purpose

• This question taps into your internal desires, and can help you identify your purpose.
• A good way to answer this question is to consider those things you like to do in your free time or the projects at work you volunteer for or seek out.
• These things should also align with your talent, and it’s important to not confuse purpose with passion, says Maxwell.
• “Sometimes your passion is something you’re not any good at,” he says. “If you’re passionate about something you’re not good at, you can make it a hobby, not a career.”

• Your purpose will give you a return, and this question helps you identify the things you do that generate results. For example, if your talent is sales, you likely hit your goals every month.
• Or if you are good at innovative thinking, you might share ideas at work that prompt new projects. Pay attention to the tasks you do that get you accolades and awards.
• Strengths and purpose are more than knowledge, says Maxwell. “Knowledge is overrated,” he says. “I can ask Siri, and she’ll tell me what I need to know. But what value is something if you know it but don’t use it?

• Once you identify your uniqueness, you need to fine-tune and work harder at it to set yourself apart.
• While having talent helps make you special, developing it further can make you strong.

“Your growth potential is connected to your strengths,” says Maxwell. “In your weak areas, your growth potential is low, but when you’re working to improve your strength, you have a higher capacity.”