A martial arts master once asked Bruce Lee to teach him everything Lee knew. Bruce Lee brought out two cups filled with water. “This first cup,” Lee said, “represents everything you know. The second cup represents everything I know. If you want to pour the water from the second cup into the first, you must first empty the water from the first cup.”

How to find your true life purpose?

When I talk about life purpose, I’m not referring to your job, your daily responsibilities, or even your long-term goals. I’m referring to the reason why you exist in this world.

Maybe you’re a nihilist, believing that life has no inherent purpose or meaning. It’s okay to not have a purpose, and believing that life has no purpose will not stop you from finding it. That’s similar to someone who doesn’t believe in gravity saying it won’t pull them down. But for those who are seeking a purpose, it may take longer to find their life purpose. So, if you belong to this group, you may need to change the time mentioned in the title from 20 minutes to 40 minutes (or, if you’re really struggling, maybe even 60 minutes). It’s also possible that if you believe life has no purpose, you might think what I’m saying is nonsense. But even so, what do you have to lose by giving it an hour’s effort?

Below is a story about something Bruce Lee once did. A martial arts master asked Bruce Lee to teach him all of Bruce’s skills. Bruce Lee took out two cups filled with water. “This first cup,” Bruce said, “represents everything you know. The second cup represents everything I know. If you want to pour the contents of the second cup into the first, you must first empty the water from the first cup.”

If you want to find your true life purpose, you must first clear away all the wrong goals in your mind (this includes the possibility that you may have no goals at all).

How I suggest you do it:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open a word processor (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. At the top of the document, write: “What is my true life purpose?”
3. Write down whatever answer immediately comes to mind (any answer is fine). The answer doesn’t have to be a complete sentence; even a simple short phrase will do.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write an answer that makes you feel a deep emotional response. That will be your purpose.

It’s as simple as that. Whether you’re a teacher or an engineer, or even a spiritual guide, this method will work for you. Some people may say this approach is too simplistic, but others will find it brilliant. It typically takes 15-20 minutes to clear away the mental clutter, societal expectations, and wrong answers constantly buzzing in your mind. But when the right answer finally emerges, you’ll feel as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders—this is your true answer.

For some, this method may not seem easy. It will require persistence, as sorting through the wrong answers may take up to an hour. But if you’re committed to this, you’ll eventually find the right answer. After you’ve written about 50-100 answers, you will find one that resonates deeply with you. Once you find that answer, you can stop. If you’re skeptical about doing this, it may feel ridiculous to write down answers and keep going, but it’s worth trying no matter how you feel.

During the process, some of your answers may repeat. You can set aside earlier sheets of answers and then come back to them. You may even notice that some of your answers from #10 to #20 resemble each other. This is effective because you’ll continue clearing away the mental noise and letting the real answers emerge.

At some point in this process (often around answer #50 to #100), you’ll feel a sense of calm, and your mind will offer answers that seem more genuine. It’s natural. Keep going, don’t stop, and even if your mind wants to resist, keep writing.

You’ll also find that some answers will fill you with curiosity or surprise, as they may initially seem absurd but will start to make sense. During this process, trust those answers as benchmarks. When you start circling back to earlier answers, when every answer feels right, then you’re getting closer to the truth. When that happens, you’ve found your purpose.

What needs to be emphasized is that it’s best to perform this test without interruptions. If you are a nihilist, then you need to temporarily let go of ideas like “I have no life purpose” or “life is meaningless.” If you continue thinking that way, you will end up empty-handed.

When I did this test, it took me about 25 minutes, and I found my final answer at step 106. Some answers (which made me feel a little emotional) started appearing at steps 17, 39, and 53, and my life purpose gradually became clearer. By step 100, after refining through steps 100-106, I reached my final answer. Between steps 55-60, I felt resistance (I wanted to stop and do something else, feeling like this test had failed and even became frustrated), but by step 80, I suddenly stopped for two minutes, relaxed my body, and let my thoughts clear. Then, I concentrated again and continued seeking the right answer—this helped tremendously in reaching the correct answer. After this rest, the answers started to become more and more clear.

This was my final answer: To live courageously, with love and passion, to awaken the souls of others, and to leave this world peacefully.

When you finally find a unique and resonant answer to why you exist, you’ll feel a deep connection to it. Every word will fill you with strength, and when you read that answer, you’ll feel fully empowered.

The hard part isn’t finding your life purpose; the challenge is maintaining it amidst daily work and continuously improving yourself to fulfill this purpose.

If you’re wondering why such a simple method works, the key is to set aside the question of “why” before finishing the test. Once you’ve completed it, you will already know why it works. It’s very likely that if you write down 10 different answers to “why it works” (as others have successfully done), you will get 10 different answers, each reflecting different belief systems, and each will make sense in its own way.

Obviously, if you stop before reaching the right answer, this test won’t have any effect. I predict that 80% to 90% of people can find the right answer within an hour. If you keep resisting or lack belief in the test, it may take you three hours, but I don’t think most people will need that long (I believe the median is around 15-45 minutes).