How to Find Your Purpose in Life: Discover Your Ikigai
Updated: Sep 8
Miriam Garcia-den Boer is a passionate brain-based vitality coach and founder of Wellbrain.nl. She empowers people to understand their brain, transform their behaviour and create lasting vitality through science-backed awareness and practical tools.
A meaningful life rarely begins with a perfect plan. What if finding your purpose in life isn’t about discovering one big answer but learning to notice the small things that make you feel truly alive?
We can spend years following expectations, pursuing goals, building careers, and taking care of everything and everyone around us. From the outside, life may look full. Yet somewhere along the way, we can lose touch with a simple but powerful question: What gives my life meaning?
Purpose is not simply about knowing what you want to achieve. It is about understanding why you do what you do and feeling that your life is connected to something meaningful.
Sometimes, discovering purpose means slowing down long enough to notice the things that energise us, the experiences that fulfil us, the people who matter, and the contribution we naturally want to make.
There is a powerful Japanese philosophy that brings these elements together in a surprisingly simple way. It has inspired people around the world to rethink how they approach work, relationships, wellbeing, and the meaning of everyday life. Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Joyful Life.
Perhaps finding your purpose is less about searching for something new and more about discovering what has been there all along.
What is ikigai? A simple way to understand your purpose
Ikigai is often translated as “a reason for being” or “a reason to get up in the morning.” At its heart, it is about what makes life feel worthwhile.
Rather than seeing purpose as one extraordinary mission you must discover, ikigai invites us to look at the things that bring meaning to our everyday lives. It can be found in our work, relationships, creativity, learning, contributions, passions, or even simple daily rituals. That is what makes the concept so powerful: Your purpose does not have to be grand to be meaningful.
Ikigai encourages us to explore four important questions:
What do I love?
What am I good at?
What does the world need?
What can I contribute through my work or actions?
Where these areas begin to connect, we may discover clues about what gives our lives direction and meaning. But ikigai is not a formula for finding one perfect answer. It is an invitation to explore. Your ikigai can evolve as you do. What gives your life meaning at 25 may not be the same at 45, 65, or 80.
The important question is not “Have I found my one purpose?” but rather, “What gives my life meaning right now?”
Your purpose and your brain: Why meaning matters
Purpose is not only a philosophical question. It is also a question for the brain.
Our brains are constantly deciding where to direct attention, what deserves our energy, and what is worth pursuing. When we have a sense of meaning behind what we do, our actions can feel more intentional and motivating. Purpose can help create a sense of direction and coherence. Instead of simply moving from one task to another, we begin to understand how our actions connect to something bigger.
This matters because the brain responds strongly to meaning, motivation, connection, and reward. When we know why something matters, it can become easier to stay focused, persist through challenges, and make choices aligned with what we value.
Purpose can also support psychological resilience. Difficult moments are still difficult, but having something meaningful to move toward can change how we interpret challenges and setbacks.
Think about the difference between “I have to do this” and “I choose to do this because it matters to me.”
The action may be exactly the same, but the meaning behind it is completely different. This is why discovering your purpose is not simply about finding the perfect career or setting bigger goals.
4 simple steps to find your ikigai
Finding your ikigai does not require a life-changing decision. It can begin with curiosity and self-awareness.
Step 1: Notice what energises you
Think about the moments when you lose track of time. What activities make you feel engaged, curious, or alive? Look beyond your job. Your answers might be found in conversations, helping others, learning, creating, exploring, solving problems, being in nature, or spending time with people you love. Your energy can provide valuable clues.
Step 2: Recognise your strengths
We often underestimate what comes naturally to us. Your strengths are not limited to professional qualifications. They can include listening, connecting people, encouraging others, organising, creating, communicating, teaching, or simply making people feel understood. Your strengths can point toward where you can make a meaningful contribution.
Step 3: Ask what matters beyond you
Purpose often grows through contribution. Sometimes your contribution is much closer to home: a family member, a colleague, a community, a client, or one person whose day becomes better because you were there. Meaning often grows when what matters to us becomes useful to others.
Step 4: Experiment, don’t wait for certainty
You do not have to figure out your entire life before taking action. Try something new. Volunteer. Learn. Create. Talk to someone. Start a small project. Reconnect with something you once loved. Purpose is often discovered through action, reflection, and experimentation, not through thinking about it endlessly.
Your ikigai does not need to arrive as one big revelation. Sometimes, it emerges quietly, one choice, one experience, and one meaningful moment at a time.
The last quarter of the year: A moment to reflect
As we enter the last quarter of the year, it can be easy to focus on everything that still needs to be done: the goals we haven’t achieved, the plans we haven’t completed, and the long list of things waiting for us. But this season can also offer something more valuable: a moment to pause and reflect.
Perhaps this is the right time to step away from the noise, slow down, and listen to yourself. Your experiences, strengths, passions, values, and even the things that no longer feel right can all offer clues.
The next chapter doesn’t have to be a complete reinvention. It can simply be a more intentional version of your life.
Your purpose starts with you
Discovering your ikigai is not about finding a perfect formula for life. It is about becoming more curious about yourself and creating space to explore what truly matters.
If you feel that something is missing, you are at a crossroads, or you simply want greater clarity about your next chapter, you don’t have to figure it out alone. As a Brain-Based Vitality Coach, I help people explore their strengths, values, passions, and what gives them meaning so they can gain clarity about their purpose and take meaningful steps forward.
Ready to discover your purpose? I’ll guide you through the process. You are not alone. Let’s explore what gives your life meaning and take the first step together.
Read more from Miriam Garcia-den Boer
Miriam Garcia-den Boer, Brain-Based Vitality Coach
Miriam Garcia-den Boer is a brain-based vitality coach. Life-changer at the end of 2023, she was diagnosed with MS (Multiple Sclerosis). After that, she transformed her life by learning how the brain works. This turning point led her to build a sustainable, vitality-driven lifestyle rooted in brain awareness and behavioural change. Today, she helps individuals and corporations understand their brains, boost vitality, and create lasting energy. Her mission: Make your brain your best friend.
