Isak Vidinghoff

Purpose without pressure · Self-check

What is my purpose? A free self-check

Most purpose quizzes hand you a type and a colour and leave it there. This one shows you a pattern instead: how clear and lived your purpose is right now, what it's made of, and what's in the way. It's built on the process in my book Burnout, Bullshit, and Breakthroughs, and it ends with a first draft of your own purpose statement and one step for this week.

2 to 15 minutes, you chooseInstant reportNo email needed

Draft, not yet reviewed by Isak

Before you start

  • Choose how long you have, from 2 to 15 minutes. Longer versions ask follow-up questions based on your answers. Questions in your own words are optional.
  • Everything is scored in this browser and your answers are never sent anywhere. Your answers are kept in this browser so a reload doesn't lose them, and "Start over" clears them.
  • It's a reflection tool, not a psychological test. There are no right answers and no comparison with other people.
  • Answer for how things are now, not how you'd like them to be.
How much time do you have?
How have the last few weeks been for you?
Which sentence fits you best right now?

How true is this for you?

I have a clear sense of what gives my life meaning.
I'm actively looking for what I want my life to be about.
Making a difference for other people is a main reason I do what I do.
I have people who support me in what matters to me.
When I take time off, I can rest without feeling guilty.
There are things I do where I lose track of time because I'm absorbed.
In a normal week, at work or elsewhere, I get to use what I'm best at.

How true is this for you?

I often do things without knowing why they matter to me.
In the past few months, I've tried new things to learn what matters to me.
Being of use to others is part of what keeps me going.
I know people who care about the same things I do.
I often push myself past my limits, even when I know I'm tired.
There is something I regularly do simply because I enjoy it.
I have chances to get better at the things I'm good at.

How true is this for you?

I could say in a sentence or two what I want my life to be about.
I spend time working out what I want to change or try in my life.
I can name people who are better off because of something I did.
I have someone I can talk to about what I want my life to be about.
I protect time for rest, even when there is a lot to do.
This one is just a check: please choose "Disagree" here.

How true is this for you?

I often feel fully engaged in what I'm doing.
People come to me for help with the things I'm good at.
A lot of my energy goes to tasks I'm good at but that drain me.
I have a good idea of the direction I want my life to take over the next few years.
Some of what I do each week is mainly for the benefit of others.
I feel I'm worth just as much on days when I get little done.

In the past month

How often did you take a concrete step towards something you care about?
How often did you put off something that matters to you?
How often did you make time for something that matters to you?
How often did you keep going with something that matters to you when it got hard?
How often did you keep time for what matters to you, even when someone else wanted that time?

What holds you back

What holds you back most right now? Pick one.

A closer look

Based on your answers so far, these are the areas with the most room to grow. A few short questions about each.

Going further

Your values

Pick the three to five values that matter most to you. Not the ones you think you should have: the ones that are really yours.

Once you have five, untick one to change your mind.

Your strengths

Pick the three strengths that come most naturally to you.

What you love and who you'd help

What do you most love working with? Pick up to two.
Who would you most like to help? Pick up to three.
Which sounds more like you?
In which parts of life would you most like your purpose to show up? Pick one or two.

In your own words

Optional. Please leave out names and health details. Your words stay in this browser and are used only if you ask for the full report.

If this is a very hard time, you can stop at any point. Help in Sweden: 112 in an emergency, 1177, Mind's Självmordslinjen 90101. Elsewhere: findahelpline.com.

How this self-check works, and its limits

It's a reflection tool built on the process in Burnout, Bullshit, and Breakthroughs and on research about purpose. It is not a validated psychological test, and there are no norms, so results can't be compared with other people's.

Everything is scored by this page in your browser. No answers are sent anywhere: the page makes no network requests with your answers, and an automatic test checks this every time the site is built.

Your answers are kept in this browser's storage so a reload doesn't lose them. Words you type are never stored. "Start over" clears everything.

The calendar, card, file and share buttons create files on your own device. The compare link carries only your profile, area levels and values.

Shorter versions ask fewer questions, so their results are a first impression. Results can change with your week and mood.

Go deeper on paper

Want to go further? These ten questions from the book need a few honest lines each. Take a notebook, or print this page: the printout has room to write. You don't have to get it perfect. You just have to get real.

1

Strip away the noise

Get rid of what isn't you: old beliefs, habits and other people's expectations.

  1. Which goals on your list are really someone else's?

    Why this question

    A parent's dream, your industry's idea of success, a feed you scroll every evening. Goals you borrowed leave you empty even when you reach them.

  2. What would you stop doing tomorrow if nobody would ever know?

    Why this question

    Whatever you'd drop is noise. Name it, so you can see what's left underneath.

2

Get clear on what's meaningful

What lights you up? What have you always been drawn to?

  1. What have you always been drawn to, even when it didn't make sense?

    Why this question

    Look at childhood, at the books you keep buying, at what you do when nobody is paying you. The pattern matters more than any single answer.

  2. Who do you admire, and what exactly do you admire in them?

    Why this question

    Not for their luck, but for how they live, lead and serve. What you admire in others usually points at what you value yourself.

3

Commit to being yourself

Stop performing. Your values and strengths are the anchors.

  1. Which three values feel true for you right now?

    Why this question

    Not the ones you were told to care about. Values change over a life, so answer for now, not forever.

  2. Which strengths do you use without trying, and where do they turn against you?

    Why this question

    Strengths cut both ways. Deep focus builds things, and it can also run you into the ground. Knowing both sides lets you build a life that uses them well.

4

Take real action

Passion, a playground and an impact, then one small step.

  1. What are you willing to struggle for?

    Why this question

    Passion isn't only what feels good. It's what you keep doing when it's hard and nobody rewards you for it.

  2. Whose life, or which problem, do you want to make a little better?

    Why this question

    Meaning comes from knowing your work matters beyond yourself. It doesn't have to be grand or visible.

  3. What is one small step you can take this week?

    Why this question

    Even a tiny one. Even just saying no to one thing that isn't you. Purpose is a decision you make with whatever you have, right now.

5

Repeat

Purpose isn't a one-time event. It's a practice.

  1. When will you ask these questions again?

    Why this question

    Pick a date three months from now and put it in your calendar. Your answers will shift, and that's the point.

Put it together

Take your answers to questions 5, 6 and 8 and fill in the sentence below. It's a first draft, so write it in pencil.

Because I value your three values, I use my strengths for your strengths to make a positive impact on the people or the problem you named.

An example: Because I value growth, honesty and clarity, I use my strengths for learning, creating and teaching to help others live more awake and fulfilled lives.

Purpose is the why. Goals are only the stepping stones, and if you chase goals without a why, you end up empty even when you win. When you're ready for more, read How to find your purpose when you feel lost, and see the other writing on purpose.