Three-step guide to figure out what you were born to do

FOR some people it's obvious, and from a young age they know exactly what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

But for many others the question of what we were born to do can go unanswered for many years - or a lifetime.

But it doesn't have to be that way according to US author Steve Olsher, who adapted his book What Is Your What for an article on The Huffington Post.

So grab a pen and paper and have a crack at Olsher's simple three-step guide to determining exactly what you should be doing with your life.

Step one: Write a list of things you love doing. "Focus on the activities and interactions that lift your soul," wrote Olsher. "Avoid listing skills you're good at simply because you've practised them over time."

Step two: Write a list of things you hate doing. "The key is to acknowledge your thoughts and feelings," wrote Olsher. Once you've got a healthy list, rank them in order starting with what you dislike the most.

Step three: Take your list of 'things you love doing' and ask yourself each of these six questions:


1. Even if you didn't get paid a cent for it, would you still do this?

2. Would doing this inspire you every day?

3. Does doing this come as naturally to you as breathing?

4. Do you feel you've been given a special gift to do this?

5. Does time seem to fly by when you're engaged in this activity?

6. Can you possibly make money doing this?

"If any of your answers to these six questions is no, cross out the activity and move to the next item," Olsher recommends.

Once you find an activity that you can honestly answer 'yes' to for all six questions, see if it also match's anything on your list of 'Things you hate doing.'

If it only matches one or two things on that list, circle that activity and continue to work through your original list.

"Once you've identified three or fewer activities, your last job is to identify synergies between them and/or choose the specific nouns or adjectives that best define your gifts," wrote Olsher.

Did you notice a theme at all with the activities you circled?

"If you can pinpoint your gifts and complete your "What" equation by also identifying the vehicle you will use to share your gifts with the world and the people you're most compelled to serve, you'll probably feel like you've thrown a 500-pound bag of sand off your shoulders," wrote Olsher.