Are you curious if you are living your true purpose in life? You probably have more than one purpose anyway! One way to ascertain that you might be on the right path is to take a look at your authentic self.
You might be thinking, "Oh, great--another personal inventory.
I don't have time for that!" Yet, you might feel that you waste much of your life wondering, "Is what I'm doing with my life all there is for me?" Addressing questions such as those below can help you BEGIN to identify your own authentic self.
As most of us know, we must first determine where we are NOW before we can identify at least one path to attempt to get somewhere else in the future to attain a goal.
Also, actually writing the answers helps you clarify your thoughts and delve even deeper into your truth.
Ready to assess where you are now? Happy treasure-hunting! How aware are you of:

• what you already have that you're grateful for? You might list your qualities, tendencies, and idiosyncrasies as well as your possessions.
  
• your values? Do you align your daily activities with what you truly value in your life? For example, if you value honesty and integrity, are you spending time with a person who lies to or steals from you?
• your beliefs? What moral, social, political, spiritual, and religious beliefs do you wish to uphold?
• your boundaries? If you, for example, promise yourself you will only spend $20 at a festival so that you live within your budget, do you then charge $100 worth of clothing on your credit card?
• your self talk and how it influences your reality? We might know that we are the creators of our own life.
  But what are we truly creating? Do we support ourselves on a daily basis, or do we berate ourselves for failing to do everything on our to-do list...
  again? Or do we have a martyr or victim complex thinking we can't affect change of our situation, personality tendencies, or other facets of our being? Yes, some things we can't change.
  You might find if you truly question everything, you can discover alternative solutions for issues you thought were limiting you.
  
• your essence? Take some time to assess other parts of your being.
  Use any or all your senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and intuition.
  Scan the physical, intellectual, and psychological parts of you.
  You might be pleasantly surprised at where you are, exactly, after all these years of myriad experiences you've had on a daily basis.
  
• your joys? How about your fears? Usually joys indicate experiences you prefer to have, whereas fears suggest what to avoid.
  List your past happy memories and worries.
  Then consider: sometimes the past is a predictor of the future--but not always.
  What is true for you today? You might be surprised that some feelings about your past are not true indicators for you today.
  What are your joys and fears now?
• your needs and wants? What's truly a need for you and what is a desire? Sometimes it can be challenging to definitively decipher between the two.
  
• your yearnings? Have you ever wondered: is this all there is from my life? You might have even buried a feeling that you just know something is missing.
  Are you doing what you love every day? If so, kudos! If not, what would you rather be doing? Although unpleasant, feelings of dissatisfaction can be a wonderful gift for us to weave a new tapestry of life with newly realized threads of happiness.
  
• ...
  and ultimately, what do you feel and think is your purpose(s)?

After you answer questions such as those mentioned in this article, you probably better assessed where you truly are in your life today.
Feel free to revisit these questions and consider some of your own, if you ever feel dissatisfied.
With a better understanding of your true self, you can more easily map a course to achieve the goals you'd really prefer to be pursuing.
Thus, you're more likely to be motivated to attain those goals more aligned with your true purpose.
Welcome to your authentic self!