For years, I've sifted through the existing literature on discovering, uncovering, or creating your life mission, trying things out in my life and wondering why I wasn't as fulfilled as I believed possible. Along the way, I've made four critical distinctions that have enabled my clients and I to take our lives to ever-deeper levels of meaning, purpose, and satisfaction. I offer them up here for the first time in a simple format so you can begin to play with them in your own life…

1. Identify your Gifts

Many people already know what their gifts are - those things in your life that come naturally to you, without any undue personal effort or struggle. However, in a society which places a premium on hard work, it's easy to overlook and underestimate the value of what you were "born with". A good way of identifying your gifts is to think of those skills, abilities, or personality traits you exhibit which are so much a part of that you can't remember learning them and can't imagine not having them. If you're still not sure, grit your teeth, ask those people closest to you, and if you're like most of us, prepare to be embarrassed!

2. Clarify your Calling

In the old days, it was the most natural thing in the world to hear someone talk about being "called to the priesthood" or "called to be a doctor". (As with reincarnation, where no-one ever seems to recall a past life where they were "third guy on the left in ancient Egypt", people never seem to talk about being "called to be a garbage collector", but I'm sure it happens!) Your calling is what you are continually drawn to, no matter how impractical or impossible it seems to "make a living at it". In the same way as you choose your work, your calling chooses you, and for many people it is difficult to remember a time when they did not want to do something related to their calling, even if they never have (yet!).

3. Create your Mission

There is a great deal of contention about whether your mission in life is something you create or something you discover. As you've probably guessed, I weigh in on the side of creation. In it's simplest form, you create your mission by deciding how you want to use your gifts in the service of your calling. Do you need to have a mission? Absolutely not, but if you don't, you are probably missing out on some of the joy, energy, and fulfillment that comes with clarity of purpose and surrender to a higher goal.

4. Choose your Work

If you're lucky, your work, i.e. what you do for a living, is merely an extension of your mission and you spend each day joyfully using your gifts in the service of your calling. On the off-chance this doesn't describe you :-), you now have a clear set of criteria for choosing meaningful work.

Here’s how you can put this to work for yourself:

1. Take a few moments to identify your gifts and clarify your calling. If you're not sure, simply set the intention to become aware of your gifts and calling and prepare to be amazed as life conveniently drops daily hints and reminders into your life.

2. Draft a mission statement - remember, you do this by deciding how you want to use your gifts in the service of your calling - in short, you make it up! Don't worry about "getting it right" - in the first instance, you can't (!), and in the second instance, this is something you'll be re-visiting and re-writing for years to come.

(If you already have a mission statement, think about re-evaluating it in the light of what you now know about your gifts and your calling).

3. Just for fun, make a list of jobs or other types of work or activity that would enable/allow you to fulfill your mission, utilize your gifts, and/or enjoy your calling.

Have fun, learn heaps, and make your life count!