3 Easy Steps to Discovering Your Soul’s Purpose

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.
– Yogi Berra

Many spiritual traditions hold that each of us is born with a specific mission or purpose. Today many people write personal mission statements. Is this the same as a statement of your soul’s purpose? If the mission is something you are driven to do, whether you’re paid for it or not, it might be. Your soul’s purpose may not always be the way you earn a living. Some fulfill their purpose through family life, a volunteer position or even a hobby.

Your purpose could be interpersonal, such as counseling families, or it might involve the natural world as an ecologist saving endangered species. A soul’s purpose could be scholarly, as in researching ancient cultures—or artistic, as a painter or musician. What is always true about a soul’s mission is that it’s a form of service—to your Higher Power, the human race, the Universe.

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.

-Albert Schweitzer

Some of us recognize our purpose from an early age, while for others it’s a journey of exploration.

Remember, the Universe is on your side when it comes to finding your passion. Or it may find you! That’s what happened to me.

It started when I was a student at Boston University. A friend from California, who had learned reflexology in a yoga class, came to visit. Seeing it was a stressful time for me, she said, “Take off your shoes and go lay down.” She worked on my feet. The experience was profound, life-changing and healing on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. I thought, “Wow, I want to do this for people!” I studied reflexology and sought out every opportunity to learn—and read every reflexology book I could find.

While working as a special education teacher, I began doing one or two client reflexology sessions a week, then one or two a day. When it got to three or four a day I left my day job to practice reflexology full-time. For me it has been the most rewarding and fulfilling work imaginable.

I later created my own Reflexology Certification Training Program to inspire others to share the power of reflexology. Over the last forty years, I have trained thousands of Reflexologists who have touched the soles/souls of many thousands more. Reflexology is my life purpose, and it is my privilege to empower others to transform lives through reflexology.

The goal of a life purpose is not what you will create, but what it will make you into for creating it.
– Shannon L. Adler

Trying to discover your life’s purpose? Here are three ways to help recognize it:

Think about the three most meaningful moments in your life. What did they have in common? When we feel the most alive, the most in touch with ourselves, we are aligned with our soul’s purpose. Find the thread—the common theme that connected those moments and, as Joseph Campbell said, “Follow your bliss.”

Watch for synchronicities: a friend tells you about something; a book with a related title falls off the shelf in a bookstore; a sign you pass while driving repeats the same idea. Stay open to receiving these messages from the Universe. They can lead you to an extraordinary life.

Ask for guidance in your prayers and during meditation.

Speaking of synchronicities, are you reading this article because your soul’s purpose is about transforming lives as a holistic reflexologist? Food for thought.

-Laura Norman