Dr. Romance Happiness Tip: Your Inner Mentor Can Create New Meani

Dr. Romance writes:

Sooner or later all of us question the meaning of life. The sooner we get to it, the better chance we have of finding a satisfactory answer.

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As a therapist I watch many of my clients pass through stages of personal growth. Once they work through the issues that have held them back, they often begin to ask...“What now?” -- which prompts a desire to search for meaning. “It isn’t until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are,” said Oprah Winfrey, “not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within – that you can begin to take control,”

Searching for the meaning of one’s life is a discovery process, a learning experience, and a creative event. By reviewing the kind of person you are and the abilities that come naturally to you -- even if they got you into trouble in the past -- you can gain insight into your life purpose.

I have developed a series of questions to help my clients identify their personal qualities, talents, desires, values, and recurring patterns or circumstances that repeat in their lives. (It is not a "quiz" with “right” or “wrong” answers and one answer isn’t necessarily better than another.) The exercise is a tool to help you get a more objective look at your own unique strengths and abilities.

You may find it helpful to write your answers down.

To identify your personal qualities:

Are you friendly, open, or outgoing? Or, Are you solitary, quiet, or reserved?

Are you a good listener and receptive? Or Are you a communicator, someone others listens to?

Are you a dreamer or an intellectual? What other qualities do you have?

To identify your talents:

Are you good with your hands? Do you excel at a craft, needlework, or carpentry or do you have mechanical gifts?

Are you artistic? Can you paint or draw? Can you sculpt or throw pottery? Do you dance, act, or direct? Are you musically inclined? Can you play an instrument or sing? Do you compose, appreciate, or critique music?

 

Are you a skilled communicator? Are you a good conversationalist or writer? Are you a good public speaker or teacher?

Do you have other intellectual talents? Are you good at math, spatial relations, computer games, or programming. Do you have a knack for solving puzzles?

 

What other talents do you have?

To identify your desires?

Do you want to travel?

Is there a political cause that interests you?

For instance, would you like to clean up the environment?

Would you like to express yourself musically or artistically or as a public speaker, writer, or teacher?

Do you want to help animals or save human lives?

Do you want to become a healer or health-care worker?

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List any other desires no matter how fanciful that don’t appear on this list.

What circumstances seem to repeat in your life?

Do you often wind up teaching, talking to, organizing, or leading groups?

Do you find yourself repeatedly working with computers, plants, paintbrushes, horses, babies, heavy machinery, microscopes, or any other item?