Find your purpose. Yeah, just go out and do it. What are you waiting for? Go and live out your purpose! I think this summarizes what many of us went through post college graduation. We took a few classes on a subject and once you’ve been pushed out the door, that field is your purpose and you’re to hit the ground running.

Purpose isn’t arbitrary. There is nothing about purpose that’s pulled out of a hat. I don’t know how you picked your major, but the way I did was far from scientifically. Instead, purpose is based on who we are intrinsically, what we care about and how we interact with the world around us.

I am what I am, but who is that? Think about your personality. What kind of person are you? Do you enjoy groups or solitude? Do you prefer spontaneity or structure? Are you rational or an idealist? Based on our personality, we begin to get an understanding of how we’re wired and where that could be best utilized.

What are your passions? Find the things about which you’re naturally interested. Whether it’s clean water, technology, orphans, teenagers, sex trafficking, etc., don’t worry about how ridiculous you think it may be. The fact is, we’re all different in what matters most to us. That’s how it’s supposed to be.

Communication is key. Once we’ve found something about which we’re passionate, we have to find a role within the passion that fits us. For instance, someone who is well-spoken and likes people would make a better salesperson than someone more introverted. A rational thinker comfortable with solitude might make a better programmer than someone more extroverted. You wouldn’t use a screw driver for a spoon, so why would you settle for a role that doesn’t best utilize how you are?

“So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes 2:9–11

Purpose is given purpose. Just because we’re passionate about something doesn’t make our work purposeful. True purpose is derived from the reason for which we strive. If we are striving for any reason less than God, all our work is in vain. There is nothing on this earth that will not pass away. Thus, all we do devoted to things of the earth, be they success, ourselves, security, fulfillment, will fade away in due time. There is One and Him alone that will never fade.

“Passion is consuming. It’s tinged with discontent, restlessness, and determination that propel someone to action.” — Marc Estes

Purpose is consistent with who we are. Ultimately, our purpose stems from God and who He has made us to be. He gave us each a specific personality that deals with situations and people in different ways. We cannot be passionate about everything, but we must be faithful to the people and issues that matter most to us. In doing so, we also need to be wise in the role we take on caring about those things. Caring about anything in a capacity that is not consistent with who we are is still not maximizing our gifts and potential. So today, if you haven’t already, start asking some questions and go find your purpose.