what's the difference between having values and having a life purpose?

[YIDIRYIDIR]

I still don't get life purpose. 
since my life has always been a series of medium-term projects (6 months to 2 years) that either solve a problem, or my curiosity drifted me there.
these projects are all over the place, from university to business to dating to hobbies. i learned so many skills and never specialized in any domain. 
now I'm a freelancer, not because of life purpose, but i maxed out university so i quit and freelancing seemed to be the next challenging project that excites me and I'm curious about. 
when i think of the future, i don't see myself doing something specific, but rather engaging in projects that fit that context of my life. 

my motivation has always been growth and creativity, so do I need life purpose?
 

Edited 1 hour ago by YIDIRYIDIR

[WonderSeeker]

Life purpose ≠ job. Job is what you do. Purpose is who you want to become.

I just turned 28. Since I was 25, I've tried 8 different things. But my purpose has always stayed the same (in fact, it's grown).

Purpose is a state of mind. A north star if you will.

I say all this because I'm guessing you're about 20 years old. You're all good.

[YIDIRYIDIR]

@WonderSeeker I agree that purpose is not a job, but the point of life purpose is to align everything in life with it, job included. 

for example, someone may say that their life purpose is to help people be more conscious and be free of their unconscious stuff, so they might choose a therapist, or coach as a job. 

but do I need that purpose statement to have clarity on what to do? 
I'm 23 btw

[Elliott]

@YIDIRYIDIR

You have no long term aspirations? It doesn't have to be a career. It sounds like it's  "growth and creativity" to me.

I think it's good to have a long term aim, even if you're not dedicated to it, it can change.

It's for the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, you usually need to satisfy the lower ones before you solidify what your ultimate aim is.

Edited yesterday at 06:08 PM by Elliott

[WonderSeeker]

9 hours ago, YIDIRYIDIR said:

@WonderSeeker I agree that purpose is not a job, but the point of life purpose is to align everything in life with it, job included. 

for example, someone may say that their life purpose is to help people be more conscious and be free of their unconscious stuff, so they might choose a therapist, or coach as a job. 

but do I need that purpose statement to have clarity on what to do? 
I'm 23 btw

Ok never mind, I think you understand the concept well.

The only mistake (which I also made) is timing. The alignment you're talking about takes time. Don't be afraid to be a late bloomer if that's what it takes. 

For example—

My top values are: Truth, consciousness, education, nature (the outdoors, camping, natural history), natural living, travel, and healthy/clean diet. 

BUT... What ended up happening is in the past 5 years I made a long and painful career change from being a geologist (which in theory I still love) to being a school teacher in foreign countries (which in practice I love even more). Along the way I tried sales/opening a business to test that dimension of work; it failed but I leanred. 

Point is you'll make tons of adjustments, big and small, if you're doing things right. That's just a small snippet of my values and some of the changes I've made.

Hope it helps.

Edited 18 hours ago by WonderSeeker

[YIDIRYIDIR]

@WonderSeeker thank you for your explanation and sharing bro, I appreciate it. also that's inspiring. 
i guess you're right, timing matters, i will reflect on that more. 

[YIDIRYIDIR]

@Elliott when i look at the future, i don't see me having more or being more successful or contributing in some way. but rather i just see myself working on projects on and on and on. by focusing on autonomy, creativity and curiosity instead of some outcome or purpose. 
these are some examples of projects i worked on in the past 7 years: when i was in high school, i focused on learning beatbox and beatboxing, i was obsessed with it for 2 + years, then i focused on getting to university, i gotten into engineering school and focused on it for 2 years, i figured i'm more of a creative person than analytic, so i switched to architecture school. then i focused on architecture school for 1 year, then i focused on dating and socializing, then i focused on leadership and management skills by being in university clubs, the i focused on building my online business and it's where i learned visual thinking, drawing, and writing, now i'm focusing on scaling as a freelancer. 

while working on all those projects, my whole motivation was growth and creativity. once a project gets boring or i don't grow anymore, i go "well it would be sick to do this" and just go and do it mainly because it will challenge me creatively and will allow me to grow. 

but what i have is a philosophy and values but is that different than a life purpose or it is the same?