Do people use finding their purpose to postpone work? Oh hell yeah, all the time! And that's because it feels great to procrastinate on what's right in front of you while waiting to find this magical, mysterious, higher and noble cause that seems to somehow always be waiting in the future but not quite today and certainly not now.
Why do we do it? Real life problems and struggles don't look all that sexy but having high aspirations does. Besides, having aspirations doesn't require any hard work.
What's wrong with searching for a higher purpose? Generally speaking, there is nothing wrong with it until it becomes a thing in itself. Searching for your purpose is not the purpose itself, just like the map is not the territory. In order to achieve great things you have to fix yourself first, kind of thing.
What about hope? It's really easy to hope that the next year is going to be a lot better than the current one, that tomorrow will somehow be better than today, and still fail to realize having better requires actually doing better, and that means now. Hope will not get you there, action will.
What's the purpose of life? From a Univers perspective the purpose of life is evolution and higher intelligence. But from a human perspective, life is about growth and contribution and happiness.
So then what's my life's purpose? It's simple, become useful so you have something of value to give, and then find a unique way to express that. The Universe will take care of the rest.
Why should I be useful? Look at it this way, if you are alive right now it's because you are literally invested with life's energy. That's the Universe placing a bet on the utility of your existence , and so it's your duty to figure out what and how you can contribute back to it.
Where should I start? Because contribution is unique to the individual, in order to give something of value you have to figure yourself out first. You're a vehicle to your value, and a means to an end, discover who you are so you can know what to give.
What should I do? Discover your passions by exploring your interests, invest in your personal growth every day and find a way to creatively express your uniqueness in a meaningful way. Do all of the above and you are going to be very, very happy.
Your uniqueness is the greatest gift, and life is nothing more than a journey towards yourself. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Happy exploring!