{"id":77872,"date":"2018-02-07T10:39:36","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T18:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=77872"},"modified":"2018-02-07T10:39:36","modified_gmt":"2018-02-07T18:39:36","slug":"how-to-dictate-your-purpose-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/07\/how-to-dictate-your-purpose-in-life\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

The secret of living a happy life is to live a purposeful life.<\/p>\n

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Download PDF<\/h2>\n

PDF: How to Dictate Your Purpose in Life<\/a><\/p>\n

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What is ‘purpose’?<\/h2>\n

\"Selfie<\/p>\n

You are a tool of humanity. Your ‘purpose’ is how you can best use your skills, talents, and strengths to empower the rest of humanity.<\/p>\n

The problem in modern society is that we don’t know what our purpose is in life. Many of us have difficulty getting out of the bed in the morning, because life seems so pointless (nihilism).<\/p>\n

\"Eric<\/p>\n

I don’t think that we are born with a purpose. Rather, you must define purpose for yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The exciting thing about purpose is that you have the control to dictate your own purpose in life. And you can also have many different purposes in life — because you are a multifarious individual, with lots of different skills, strengths, and talents.<\/p>\n

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How do I know what my purpose is in life?<\/h2>\n

\"my<\/p>\n

To start off, you don’t ‘discover’ your purpose in life, you DICTATE your purpose in life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The reason I don’t like the idea of ‘discovering’ your purpose is that it assumes you have 1 hidden and secret purpose in life, and somehow you must discover it like a hidden treasure.<\/p>\n

\"cindy<\/p>\n

The reason I prefer ‘DICTATING’ your purpose in life is that you have more control. By being able to DICTATE your purpose in life, you can do the following:<\/p>\n

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  1. You can dictate multiple<\/em> purposes in life<\/li>\n
  2. You don’t let others in society dictate your purpose for yourself in life (in other words, ignore what your parents, teachers, and the rest of society wants you to do in your life)<\/li>\n
  3. You can decide to change your purpose in life whenever you want to.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    Empowering Others<\/h2>\n
    \"My
    My mom taking photos of flowers. Lisbon, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Before we empower others, we must first empower ourselves.<\/p>\n

    Just think about it: If we are not strong enough to carry ourselves, how can we also carry the weight of ourselves on our back?<\/p>\n

    \"Man<\/p>\n

    But what does it even mean to ’empower’ ourselves?<\/p>\n

    We empower ourselves by:
    \n1. Addressing our personal fears in life, and not letting these personal fears get in the way of us taking positive action in our lives.
    \n2. Financial strength: For example, getting out of debt, building a savings, lowering expenses, and increasing income.
    \n3. Dictating our purpose in life (Knowing why<\/em> we wake up in the morning, and dedicating some time everyday on our purpose in life).<\/p>\n

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    Challenge Your Belief-Systems<\/h2>\n

    \"jesus<\/p>\n

    We should not let others dictate our purpose in life. We must also not allow others to superimpose their morals, ethics, and belief-systems on us.<\/p>\n

    For example, in modern Western-society, almost all of our morals are derived from the Christian faith. This includes compassion, charity, equality, and good works.<\/p>\n

    \"cross.<\/p>\n

    Many of us blindly follow the values\/belief-systems dictated on us by society. But we must examine our own values and belief-systems, and determine whether we truly desire to follow them or not.<\/p>\n

    For example, I was born and baptized a Catholic, and thus learned Christian values as a child growing up (I went to Sunday School, Boy Scouts, and grew up in America). As I got older, I began to challenge<\/em> my beliefs, and after a lot of self-reflection, I discovered I actually liked my Catholic-Christian-American belief system. Of course, there are many parts of the Christian faith I don’t agree with– and these are things I simply ignore.<\/p>\n

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    Why Empower Others?<\/h2>\n
    \"Abstract
    Abstract yellow man. Lisbon, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    We all think it is “obvious” that you must be a good person and help others. But if you study history, that is not always the case (study the History of the Peloponnesian war by Thucydides, and we will know that the history of mankind has been brutal, full of war, and strife). The concept of being a ‘good person’ that helps others is a relatively modern one.<\/p>\n

    \"Teaching
    Teaching my mom how to blog. Lisbon, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    For myself, it kind of doesn’t make a sense to live your entire life just for yourself.<\/p>\n

    For example, a lot of people mistake the difference between ‘happiness’ and ‘pleasure.’<\/p>\n