Recover Your Life Purpose From Your Childhood Memories

Imagine trying to hang your beautiful new suit in a closet without a hanger. Or maybe trying to hang it on one of those flimsy plastic hangers from a discount store.

I see one's life purpose as a hanger to drape the rest of your life onto. If you've got none, your life will fall to the floor, rumpled and lost among all the other clutter. If you've got the wrong one, it might seem to work okay for awhile, but eventually your life will suffer the consequences of ill-fitting pieces.

If you're unhappy with your job or your life in general, perhaps it's because you are unaware of your life purpose. Maybe you enjoyed art as a child, but ultimately majored in accounting because you believed that art wouldn't earn you a salary. Or maybe you enjoyed doing something, but someone else told you that you weren't good enough at it to pursue it as a career. Or maybe you just hop from one job to another, like Goldylocks, looking for the one that's just right.

The key to your happiness might be locked in your childhood memories. All you have to do is go retrieve it. That is why the title of this article says "recover" not "discover" your life purpose. I believe your purpose has been with you since childhood. Take a look!

Make a list of what has been constant in your life since childhood. Consider what games you enjoyed playing as a child and teenager. What books you were attracted to. What your favorite subjects were in school. Who your heroes were. What type of items you collect and cherish. Your favorite places to visit. Is there a pattern or common denominator among these?

For example, I wrote my first poem (titled "What Is Life?") when I was only eight years old. And by age 10 I was publishing my own neighborhood newspaper on a manual typewriter with carbon paper. I only wanted to play school if I could be the teacher, and playing hospital was most fun when I got to be the one applying the bandages. I also took an early interest in parapsychology and mysticism, largely due to one of my favorite childhood television shows--"Dark Shadows." My childhood heroes included Clara Barton (teacher and founder of the Red Cross), Albert Schweitzer (philosopher and healer), and Spanky McFarland (leader of Hal Roach's "Little Rascals").

What did all of this add up to? A realization that my life purpose is to help other people heal and empower themselves, particularly through writing, lecturing, and other leadership roles.

And how do I fulfill that purpose in adulthood? Well, you're reading one of those ways right now! I have also lectured and led workshops on topics regarding human potential. I have a fulltime salaried position as an editor/proofreader for an advertising agency that specializes in health care. And in addition to my regular job duties, I took on extra management responsibilites, such as creating a "lunch and learn" program for employees.

Our childhood passions reveal our genuine selves, as opposed to the person we become after cultural socialization and the development of rationalization and other defense mechanisms. So travel back to the first you, the true you, and I'll bet you'll see her or him standing there with a sturdy wooden hanger in hand for your crumpled suit.