Introduction

This is the first of a series of post on what happiness means! I'm going to try to explore different perspectives, not just for myself, but hopefully be able to help others identify their happiness also!

I know the kind of response and look I've gotten before "ugh, happy means happy la! why overcomplicate things?". The thing is, for something so simple, it still eludes a lot of people. In fact, I think it's getting worse and worse as people's expectation gets higher and connection to reality gets lower.

Happiness means different things to different people. For some, it may be getting a new car, while for others it may mean hanging out with some close friends. Essentially, happiness is the result of a feeling, not an object or experience. We will expand on this perhaps in some other post.

One of those "why are we here" moments

Let's dive into the topic today of Knowing Your Purpose.

Knowing Your Purpose

Your purpose, or your "Why", is a guide post to your daily live. People without purpose, may feel lost, confused, or just feel like the days are drifting by without any reason. It is difficult living without purpose.

Purpose is well-defined in the Japanese concept of Ikigai which is the the intersection between Passion, Mission, Profession and Vocation.

Many people have perhaps started working on their passion, but find that they can't support their live. Or work on their vocation but find it draining as it does not fulfil them. In any which way, finding your Ikigai and working towards it will supposedly lead to happiness. Or at least, having a sense of purpose.

Source

We've heard of this concept many times in other terms before. We've heard of it as "work-life balance" or "loving your work" or "working in what you love". Essentially, it all means the same thing. Finding your purpose and working hard towards it while enjoying the process.

How to Find your Purpose

That's the million dollar question isn't it? While everyone would love the answer to this, unfortunately, I am unable to give it to you. But over the years while exploring this topic, I've identified a few tools that have enabled me to move towards this direction.

Were this tools perfect? Hell no! But they were a good foundation to have as I attempted to move towards this direction.

Your 3 Most Important Questions

The 3 Most important Questions is something I learned while in college while I was facing a lot of doubts and confusion in my life. I was finishing my studies in Environmental Engineering but I was full of doubt because I could not, no matter how hard I tried, imagine myself working in an Engineering role.

That was when I discovered this exercise that changed my life. It made me think about my life goals differently. Especially the difference between Means Goal and Ends Goal. I've found myself facing the issue many times where I have whatever I said I wanted, but I was still unhappy. This is because I was aiming for a Means goal instead of an Ends goal.

This video changed my life. I watched it about 5 years ago, and now I find myself working with Vishen and Mindvalley, the company that produced this video.

It 3 Most Important Questions are:

1. What do you want to experience?
2. How do you want to grow?
3. How do you want to contribute?

These are very powerful questions. I can't even begin to explain it myself, so please go through the video yourself and do the exercise as well. You won't get your ideal purpose right now, but it will give you something to start with. And you will be iterate on it as time goes on.

Although not perfect, this is my 3MIQ right now

Conclusion

What do you think? Does purpose equate to happiness? The Japanese are famous for this. Where they work at what they love with a burning passion and intention. Is this the be all and end all for happiness and life?

Discussion topic:

1. What do you think of the 3MIQ exercise?
2. What is your purpose in life and how has that driven you?
3. Do you think there is life outside of Passion, Mission, Profession and Vocation?