How do I know if I've found my life purpose or not?

[InterruptReQuest]

I've been thinking of this for a while now, but can't seem to find any clear answer to it. So, how do I know when I've found my life purpose? Of course it has to be something I'm passionate about, what does it actually feel like? Are there ways I can test (or questions I can ask myself) to know whether something is or is not my life purpose/passion? Right now I believe I might find my life purpose in music, but so far everything I've tried have pretty much felt the same (which could be because I haven't found the right instrument). Generally I do like playing instruments, though. I have played piano the longest (although rarely nowadays), but I don't think that is my passion. For some reason lately I've gotten this feeling that I'm fooling myself thinking that I like playing piano, but actually I just refuse to give up on playing piano because I've put so much time into it. Are there any other traps one could fall into when finding life purpose/passion and how can you avoid them?

[UDT]

Because you would do it, even when no one cares or pays for you to do it.

[Guest SirVladimir]

The rule of thumb is if you have doubts, you haven't found it. 

[DianaFr]

I don’t really buy the idea that life purpose can be “found”. I also don’t think that life purpose is the same as one’s passion. They’re definitely closely linked, but not the same. I have spent my entire life looking for “my purpose”. And I’m a deeply passionate person, I have always known what I’m passionate about and I have deliberately pursued those things, built my career around them, worked really, really hard which I could do since I have always been internally driven and motivated by my passion. What I’ve learned? Passion is something to explore, build upon and learn from, and as you do that you grow and mature, not only professionally, but also mentally, emotionally and character-wise. And this is exactly that take-away that matters the most. Passion can fade. Your values and priorities may change, and they will. Life will also happen, all sorts of things will happen. What I want to say is that if you put your life purpose outside of yourself (attach it to certain activities, external conditions, etc.), you risk a lot to lose a lot. What if your passion is playing football and you decide that your life purpose is to become a football player, but then you get injured and lose your ability to play for good? What happens to you then? Silly example, but still… Being a football player is just a temporary expression of your life purpose. Your purpose is rather something that you create, not find, and by creation I mean adding meaning to the things you do, meaning that matters to you. But first you must discover what matters to you and why. The more you get it, the more purposeful your life gets.

These days when I’m a new mom and my whole day (and night) revolves around my baby’s needs, it’s a real challenge to find uninterrupted time when I’m sane enough and not terribly tired to keep up with my passions. If I viewed them as my entire life purpose, I would feel miserable knowing that I’m not living it, since all I’m doing now is changing diapers and washing bottles which is as far from my purpose as possible. But it’s not about the act of changing diapers, and it’s not even about those things I’m passionate about but don’t have time for. It’s about what all that means to me and my ability to see how that meaning adds to my purpose and molds it. I think you would not have to worry about finding your purpose, if you asked yourself this one question – what constitutes a meaningful day for me? You ask yourself this every day, and you make your day meaningful. The answer will change slightly day by day and a lot over time, but today you don’t have to look too far ahead to find your purpose. It’s already with you.