A. Once There Was a Student: A Traveller Without a Destination
Sometimes life takes you on a path where you are walking but you don’t know in which direction. College days were like this for me. I too was a traveller without destination. When I was in college, I honestly did not understand why I was doing this course.
Many times, I used to sit in class, but my mind was somewhere else. Neither the subjects seemed interesting, nor did the teachers’ words change at all.
Every day seemed like a routine – getting up in the morning, going to college, attending lectures. Like a machine that is just following instructions. Every other day this question kept roaming in my mind:
“Why am I doing all this?”
“What will happen after this?”
“Am I just living for a degree?”
I was seeing that some students were busy preparing for competitive exams, some were looking for internships, some were just having fun.
And me?
I was lost in the middle of them all – confused, distracted, and without any purpose. Sometimes I felt that maybe I have come to the wrong place. Nothing used to excite me. I was doing work only because everybody else was doing it. That passion, that enthusiasm, that spark – which makes any work meaningful – was not there within me. Gradually, I stopped going to college and my friends were very few. It felt as if I was in a depressive condition. To be honest, I did not like the course or the studies I was doing at all. I liked writing stories, I liked writing poems and I liked going on stage and making people laugh.
🌱 And one day, a small activity, a small thing, gave me a new direction in my life.
I got a glimpse of my “purpose”. Today when I look back, I understand –
Until you start walking, until you become self-aware, until you spend time with yourself, the path is never visible.
“Perhaps the biggest answers of life, we ask ourselves only when we are lost.”
B. What does purpose mean?
Often, we hear the word “purpose” and start thinking that maybe it is some big mission, or some heroic work – like changing the world, or joining NASA. But the truth is that purpose is not always a big looking work.
It is a feeling coming from within – a reason that forces you to get up, which gives you the strength to walk despite being tired.
🔍 Simple Definition:
Purpose means – “That work which gives you happiness from within, and is useful to someone in some corner of the world.”
🤔 Things to think about:
• When you do a work without getting bored, you lose track of time – that could be your passion.
• When you research a topic without any effort – that could be your interest.
• When you enjoy solving a problem – that could be your purpose.
🎯 Another way to know your purpose:
You can also understand your purpose with this equation:
Purpose = Passion + Skill + Value to others
Which:
• Passion = Work you really enjoy doing
• Skill = Work you are good at, or want to become
• Value to others = Work that is useful to others, solves a problem
🧠 A small example:
If you like teaching, and you understand well, and people feel inspired after listening to you – then teaching can be your purpose.
If you like helping people, are empathetic, and work in the health field — then pharmacy or healthcare could be a purposeful career for you.
“Purpose is the fuel that frees your work from fatigue, and takes life from just living to feeling.”
C. College is not just a name for a degree
(Now, this is the perfect time to find a purpose)
Often students think of college as just a checklist:
• Attend lectures ✅
• Pass exams ✅
• Complete assignments ✅
• Get degree ✅
But somewhere or the other, the question of “then what?” always lingers inside.
“What after the degree?”
“Is what I am doing the right direction for my life?”
“Is just getting marks enough?”
🤯 The truth is:
College is not just a place to study; it is a testing lab – where you get a chance to explore yourself.
This is where you:
• Meet new people
• Try new subjects
• Face new challenges
• And most important – Meet your own self
💎 Why is it necessary to find your purpose in college?
1. Early clarity = Better decisions
When you understand your why, you:
• choose the right electives
• do the right internships
• find better mentors
• and avoid the wrong path, because if you are not on the right path, you will hear a voice from within that this path is wrong, yes but only if you are ready to hear that voice.
2. Distractions are reduced by having direction
When you have direction, you do not need to compare yourself with others. You know that “I am in my own race.”
3. Purpose brings energy
College life is tiring. But when you realize that what you are doing has a deep meaning – then even the fatigue turns into inspiration.
“College is like a compass – if you get the right direction, then no matter how long the journey is, you will definitely reach the destination.”
“College is not just about becoming ‘eligible’, it’s about becoming ‘aware’.” Now is the time to ask yourself this question –
“What am I here for in this world?”
D. “How to find your purpose?”
Make your Ikigai model
“Purpose = What you like + What you do + What works for people”
Draw these overlapping circles:
1. What I Love ❤️
2. What I Am Good At 💪
3. What The World Needs 🌍
4. What you can be paid for
You should know your IKIGAI. Ikigai is a Japanese word which means “purpose of being”
🪜 STEP 1: What do you like doing the most
First of all, you have to see which things you like the most, note them all, as many as you want
🧩 Example:
Listening to songs, singing, watching movies, speaking, reading stories, cricket watching and cricket match analysis, dancing, administration, writing etc
🪜 STEP 2: Which of these things are you actually good at doing
Like it may be that you like singing but you also know that “I am very bad”. So you have to remove all those things in which you are not good
🧩 Example: Now you have these options left
Listening to songs, watching movies, speaking, reading stories, watching cricket, administration, writing etc
🪜 STEP 3: Things that the world needs
Now you have to see those things that the world needs like suppose you like listening to songs or watching movies but the world does not care about it, so in this block you have to keep only those things that the world needs
🧩 Example: now you have These options are left
Speaking, Writing, Stories reading, Administration, Writing etc
🪜 STEP 4: Things for which you can be paid
Now you have to pay attention to which of the options left with you are the things for which you can be paid.
🧩 Example: Now you have these options left
– speaking, administration, writing etc.
It is possible that if your administration is good then you can prepare for some work related to it, or if you are good at speaking then you can do something related to teaching or leadership. Now you have to decide what you can do by looking at your qualities, this will be your Ikigai.
• Find the reason behind your daily tasks.
• Whenever you choose a career or course, ask “WHY” 5 times.
🧠 Example:
Why? – Because I am interested in this field.
Why? – Because I want to help people.
Why? – Because there are issues related to this in my family or somewhere nearby…
Why? –Because my entire experience related to this field is very good
Why?- Because when I do this, I do not know the time and I do not even get tired
“Once I get my purpose, there is less confusion and more clarity in life. And when there is clarity, the energy automatically comes.”
E. What to do if you haven’t found your purpose yet?
(Relax, you’re not late. You’re just getting started.)
Many students take tension —
“Why haven’t I found my passion yet?”
“I am in the 3rd year, I am still confused.”
“I don’t feel like an expert in any field.”
📢 Relax. You are not alone.
Purpose is found by walking on the path, not by sitting and thinking for a day. Here are some bonus tips that will make your journey easier:
🧘♂️ 1. Learn to avoid comparison
“He is writing his story, you write yours.”
Everyone has a different time to find their purpose. Some discover it in their first year, some after starting a job. Stop comparing with the world – focus on your journey.
🧠 2. Purpose evolves
Whatever you like today, it is not necessary that it is your final purpose.
Start with what feels right now. As you grow, clarity will keep coming.
“Confusion is the first step towards clarity.”
✍️ 3. Start writing a Purpose Journal
Write down your thoughts every week:
What things did you like?
What bored you?
Which work did you enjoy?
📝 You may also want to use the Purpose Discovery Journal (in PDF format) that comes with this blog — a reflection diary that will help you find your answers.
🗣️ 4. Talk to a mentor
Don’t think alone — talk to a teacher, senior, or coach. Sometimes a small conversation can change your thinking.
🪞 5. Be honest with yourself
Accept your strengths and weaknesses genuinely. Leave things that you don’t like — explore more with things that give you peace of mind.
✅ The meaning of finding a purpose is not that you write the goal of your life in a single day.
The meaning of finding a purpose is – take a step towards your real self every day.
F. It is never too late to find your purpose – start now, from wherever you are.
Those years of college…Where you are taking the most important decisions of life, but there is the least clarity. Many times it seems that everything is just a time pass. But the truth is:
“As long as you are alive, the time to start is still right.”
I was also confused. I was also not able to see the direction.
But I did one thing – I did not stop. I did not know that becoming a teacher would become my calling… or content creation, mentorship, and motivation would become my mission.
But today when I look back, I understand – Every small mistake, every confusion… was taking me on the same path.
🧭 A simple mantra for you:
“Keep moving, keep thinking, keep writing — one day you will definitely get clarity.”
Your purpose:
• Will give you a reason to get up
• Will make your work a worship
• And will make your life a story — listening to which others will be inspired
🙏 Final Words from My Heart:
💬 “Life’s biggest reward is not just money or position… Real peace of life is found when you do the work that your heart feels, and is of use to someone in some corner of the world.”
So dear student, if you have not found your purpose till today – then don’t worry. Just start. The rest of the path will be found by itself.
You can also visit: Edumentor Ashish
Download Purpose discovery Journal
