Why do you want to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela?
I always ask guests who come to my Camino de Santiago Hiking Retreats this question.
Many say that they want to walk the Camino to discover their life purpose, to find answers to questions, and solutions to problems.
Why do they want to discover their Life Purpose?
Because “finding your life’s purpose can provide a sense of direction and meaning in your life. When you have a clear understanding of your purpose, you can make choices and take actions that align with it. Your purpose can also guide you through challenges and difficult decisions, giving you a sense of clarity and focus. Additionally, having a purpose can contribute to your sense of identity and help you feel more connected to others and to something greater than yourself. Finding your life’s purpose can help you lead a more fulfilling, rewarding and impactful life, which can lead to greater personal and professional success and satisfaction.”
I lived most of the first half of my life without being aware of what my life purpose is. It is only in the second part of my life, inspired by some of the quotes below, that I decided to try to figure out what it is. I struggled, but eventually worked out how to get from “purposeless” to “purposeFULL.”
To help my Camino retreat guests to find their life purpose, I shared my strategy by creating an online retreat: Building Resilience: a Roadmap from Burnout to Breakthrough that they can work through during, before or after the retreat. You can access it as well, by clicking on the link.
- “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picasso
- “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain
- “You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it courageously.” – Steve Maraboli
- “When you discover your mission, you will feel its demand. It will fill you with enthusiasm and a burning desire to get to work on it.” – W. Clement Stone
- “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
- “The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere is to be nowhere.” – Michel de Montaigne
- “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- “Your purpose in life is to use your gifts and talents to help other people. Your journey in life teaches you how to do that.” – Tom Krause
- “The purpose of life is not to maintain personal comfort; it’s to grow the soul.” – Joan Borysenko
- “You don’t choose your purpose, your purpose chooses you.” – Jeff Goins
- “Everyone has a purpose in life and a unique talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” – Kallam Anji Reddy
- “Your purpose is the reason you are here. It is the reason you were created.” – Myles Munroe
- “The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” – Robert F. Kennedy
- “Your purpose in life is to find your voice and give wings to your dreams.” – Jayne Rios
- “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
- “Whenever you become anxious or stressed, outer purpose has taken over, and you lost sight of your inner purpose. You have forgotten that your state of consciousness is primary, all else secondary.” – Eckhart Tolle
- “Living in a way that reflects one’s values is not just about what you do, it is also about how you do things.” – Deborah Day
- “Life is absurd. But there is one meaningful thing, one inarguable thing, and that is that there is suffering. Fine writing helps alleviate that suffering – and anything that puts meaning and beauty into the world in the form of story, helps people to live with more peace and purpose and balance, is deeply worthwhile.” – Robert McKee
- “Our purpose can change, and that’s okay. The WHY isn’t always a fixed thing. Our job is to know ourselves better every day so we can identify the WHY to better equip ourselves to deal with the HOW.” – Kanwer Sing
If you want to make your life more meaningful, you can subscribe to my Savoir Vivre Vignettes newsletter, fresh-pressed in the sunkissed south of France. I’ll send you a copy of my Make Your Life More Meaningful worksheet, with several suggestions and access to a guided meditation to make it easy to put the suggestions into practice.
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