The morning I found my purpose started like any other Tuesday. Coffee in hand, scrolling mindlessly through my phone, that familiar empty feeling in my chest. I had a good job. A nice apartment. Friends who called regularly. But something was missing. The big *why* behind it all.
It took me months of trial and error to discover what I’m about to share. Not because finding your purpose is complicated, but because I was making it way harder than it needed to be. I was waiting for lightning to strike, for some divine message to appear and tell me exactly what I should do with my life.
But purpose doesn’t usually show up like that. For most of us, it emerges slowly, through daily habits and intentions that gradually reveal what matters most. Through consistent attention to what lights us up inside.
If you’re wondering how to find purpose in life (like really find it, not just read about it), setting daily intentions might be your missing piece. It was for us.
The Problem With the Big Lightning Bolt Moment
We’ve all heard those stories. Someone has a near-death experience, quits their job the next day, moves to Bali, and suddenly they’re living their perfect purpose. Good for them.
But that’s not how it works for most of us. And waiting around for that lightning bolt moment keeps us stuck.
Purpose isn’t usually found in dramatic life changes or giant leaps. It’s uncovered in small, consistent moments of clarity that build over time. Those quiet realizations when you think, “I could do this forever,” or “This matters to me in a way I can’t explain.”
Sharon spent years thinking she needed to completely overhaul her life to find purpose. She switched careers three times, moved across the country twice, and still felt that emptiness. Then she started setting daily intentions – tiny, purposeful choices about how she wanted to show up each day. Six months later, her purpose was crystal clear, and it had been right in front of her all along.
What Are Daily Intentions (And Why They’re Not Just Goals)
Let’s get something straight. Intentions are not goals.
Goals are about achievement and endpoints. “I want to make six figures.” “I want to lose 20 pounds.” They’re about getting somewhere.
Intentions are about being and becoming. “I intend to bring creativity into everything I do today.” “I intend to notice what energizes me.” They’re about how you travel, not just where you’re going.
And here’s where it gets interesting – when you set intentions consistently, you start to notice patterns. These patterns are clues to your purpose.
If you keep setting intentions around helping others, maybe your purpose involves service. If your intentions consistently involve creating or building, perhaps that’s your path.
Your purpose is often hiding in your natural inclinations. Daily intention setting just helps you pay attention.
Step 1: The Morning Purpose Check-In
How do you usually start your morning? Checking email? Scrolling Instagram? News headlines?
Try this instead. Set your alarm 10 minutes earlier. When you wake up, before grabbing your phone, sit up in bed or move to a comfortable chair. Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths.
Then ask yourself: “What would make today meaningful?”
Not productive. Not successful. Meaningful.
The first few times you do this, your mind might go blank. Or you might default to your to-do list. That’s normal. Push past it.
A client of ours – let’s call him Mike – did this exercise every morning for a week. The first three days, all he could think about was work deadlines. By day four, something shifted. He realized that connecting deeply with at least one person each day was what actually made his days feel purposeful. That single insight changed everything for him.
Write down whatever comes up. Just a sentence or two. This becomes your intention for the day.
Your Clues Are Everywhere (But You’re Probably Ignoring Them)
The truth about finding your purpose is that you’ve been getting hints about it your entire life. Those activities that made you lose track of time as a kid. The topics that still make you light up in conversation. The work that doesn’t feel like work.
But we’re taught to ignore these clues in favor of practicality, stability, what others expect of us.
Daily intention setting helps you tune back into these signals. When you consciously set an intention to notice what energizes you or what feels meaningful, you start catching these clues again.
Keep a small notebook with you. Throughout the day, jot down moments when you feel fully engaged or when time seems to disappear. What were you doing? Who were you with? What specific aspect felt meaningful?
One of our community members found her purpose by noticing that she lit up whenever she was explaining complex ideas in simple terms. Not just any ideas – specifically health information. She had been working in banking for 12 years and never considered a career in health communication. Now she runs a successful health literacy consulting business.
Your clues are specific. Pay attention to them.
Step 2: The Purpose Experiments
Okay, so you’ve started setting daily intentions and noticing patterns. Now what?
Experiment. Deliberately.
Based on the patterns you’re noticing, design tiny experiments to test if they’re really connected to your purpose.
Let’s say you’ve noticed that teaching or explaining things to others keeps showing up in your intentions and observations. Your experiment might be: “This week, I’ll create three opportunities to teach something I know to someone else, and I’ll notice how it feels.”
Keep these experiments small and doable. The point isn’t to make huge life changes yet – it’s to gather more information.
Aron used this approach when he was trying to figure out if writing was really part of his purpose or just something he romanticized. He committed to writing 200 words every morning for two weeks. By day three, he noticed he was waking up early, excited to get to his desk. That was data – valuable information about his purpose.
After your experiments, ask yourself:
– Did this energize me or drain me? – Did time pass quickly or slowly? – Would I do this even if no one noticed or paid me? – Does this feel like it matters?
Your answers will guide your next steps.
Step 3: Connect Daily Intentions to Your Values
Values are the backbone of purpose. When your daily intentions align with your deepest values, purpose becomes clearer.
Take 15 minutes to identify your core values. Not what you think they should be – what they actually are.
Ask yourself:
– What makes me angry or frustrated? (Often points to violated values) – When have I felt most fulfilled? What values were present? – If I had one year left to live, how would I spend it?
Once you have 3-5 core values, connect them to your daily intentions. If creativity is a core value, your intention might be: “Today, I will approach one ordinary task in a creative way.”
I remember doing this exercise and realizing freedom was one of my top values. When I started setting daily intentions around creating more autonomy and flexibility, my sense of purpose became much clearer. I realized any purpose that locked me into rigid structures would never feel right, no matter how good it looked on paper.
Step 4: Find the Intersection of Joy, Strength, and Service
Purpose often lives at the intersection of: – What brings you joy – What you’re naturally good at – How you can serve others
Use your daily intentions to explore each of these areas.
For joy: “Today, I intend to notice what activities make me lose track of time.”
For strength: “Today, I intend to pay attention to what others compliment me on or ask for my help with.”
For service: “Today, I intend to notice one need in the world that moves me.”
After a few weeks of these intentions, look for patterns and overlaps. Maybe you lose track of time when organizing information, people always ask you to explain complicated concepts, and you feel moved when others are confused or overwhelmed. That intersection could point to a purpose involving education or communication.
Step 5: From Intention to Action (Without Forcing It)
Here’s where many purpose-seekers get stuck. They have insights but don’t take action. Or they try to force massive changes all at once.
The key is gradual, aligned action based on your intentions and experiments.
If your intentions and experiments are pointing toward a purpose involving creativity and helping others, start small. Maybe you volunteer to help with a community art project. Or start a tiny blog sharing creative ideas.
The actions don’t need to be dramatic career changes or life overhauls. They just need to be steps in the direction your intentions are pointing.
A friend of ours realized her purpose involved helping people feel heard and validated. She didn’t quit her accounting job immediately. Instead, she started a weekly coffee meetup where people could share their challenges in a supportive environment. That small step eventually led to a coaching certification, and now she runs a successful coaching practice. But it started with a tiny action aligned with her intentions.
Purpose Is a Practice, Not a Destination
Finding your purpose isn’t a one-time event. It’s an ongoing practice of setting intentions, paying attention, and taking aligned action.
Some days will feel clear and purposeful. Others won’t. That’s normal.
The daily practice of intention setting gives you a compass, not a detailed map. It points you in the right direction and helps you notice when you’re off course.
Stick with it. Set your intention each morning. Notice what lights you up. Run small experiments. Take gradual action.
Your purpose will emerge not in a lightning bolt moment, but in the accumulated clarity of daily intentions set and followed.
Try the morning purpose check-in tomorrow. Just 10 minutes. See what happens when you make this a daily practice. Your future self will thank you for starting today.