Doing Life on Purpose
The bigger and stronger you become, the smaller every upcoming obstacle feels.
The bigger and stronger you become, the smaller every upcoming obstacle feels.
What side of the bed do you sleep on?
Why don’t you sleep on the other side? Or do you sometimes?
You likely do so intentionally, you will stay on one side of the bed and that is where you sleep every night. Why? That’s not by accident, is it?
Why do we walk through life and do other things by accident? We sometimes float from one place to the next. We may groggily go through our morning routines and brush our teeth with our eyes closed. We might get home, collapse on the couch, and turn on our favorite tv show. Why?
Living on purpose is always going to be much more rewarding than being tossed by the wind.
Many people might think they’ve found their purpose, their dream job! Just to realize a few months in that they are not becoming who they wanted to become.
Then what?
It’s valuable to pause, reflect, inspect, and understand what our purpose truly is.
3 Questions to Ask to Find Your Purpose:
These questions are adopted from Jordan Raynor’s book “Master of One” which I loved.
1. What am I passionate about?
The first question is an introspective one about the things that tug on our hearts. We are drawn to certain activities, certain people, certain areas in the world. Why? Passion.
Passion can be defined as — an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.
2. What gifts do I have?
Secondly, we look introspectively again. This question is all about the value that we can provide. Elon Musk said, “You are paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems you solve.” Value begets value — it’s really that simple. If you’re bringing clean water to an entire nation, that might be a more valuable solution than bringing bottled water to the grocery store that already has 10 other brands.
3. Where do I have the BEST opportunity to serve others and glorify the Creator?
Thirdly, we want to think beyond ourselves. It’s one thing to do a great job and get rewarded for it. But, we did not create ourselves, did we? Not the last time I checked. If we didn’t create ourselves, why do we sometimes think that we should be living for only ourselves?
What Does This Have to do With Resiliency?
Honestly, maybe it doesn’t — at least not directly.
When you think about the unhappiest or least satisfied people that you know, who are they?
When you look for peace and contentment in something that is temporary — like wealth — you will never find it.
When you seek to understand who you were created to be in the purpose that you were given? You’ll continue to be filled with energy.
People say it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
That’s great — in theory. But… every step matters. What if EVERY step was purposeful and every action was intentional? Don’t you think that it would be a lot easier to reach the goals you’ve set for yourself? I do.
What if we didn’t have to swim against the current because the current was working FOR us. That’s what happens when you live within your purpose and you live ON purpose.
When you do life on purpose, there will always be wind behind your sails.
This doesn’t mean it will be easy, but it means you’ll be in the right direction.
Without the affirmation that we are facing the right direction and making strides towards our major goals, we are less likely to press onward.
When a sailor who’s at sea for 6 months finally sees land, they are usually much more motivated and focused than they were the week prior. What if you could see land every day — even when in the middle of the ocean?
Living with a Core Purpose:
When we live each day with a core purpose and a central mission…
The waves don’t seem so big.
The wind doesn’t feel so intimidating.
The sharks don’t look as ferocious.
The people we miss feel closer.
The finish line feels within reach.
When you live with a core purpose and central mission behind all that you do, you allow yourself to be driven forward toward the person you were truly created to become.
The bigger and stronger you become, the smaller every upcoming obstacle feels.
When you are not shaken, you stay on the path and you get the job done.
Search within yourself, consult your Creator, ask those around you. What are you here for? Why are you on earth, today, right now, at this moment? You could have been born 10 years earlier or 10 years later. You could have been born on the other side of the world. Why are you here?
Understand who you are, identify what drives you, and keep pushing for more. When you live life on purpose,
“Our purpose isn’t to use the world but to be of the utmost use to the world. Our purpose is to glorify God and love others thereby reflecting the life of Christ.” — Jordan Raynor (in Master of One)
“God knows our potential because HE created it. We need to remain in Him if we want to become that all we were created to become. Let’s become all that we were created to become and live our lives with a mission that wakes us up each and every single day. Let’s store up our treasure in heaven and bring all those around with us.” — Harrison Wendland
“When you live in light of eternity, your focus changes from “How much pleasure am I getting out of life?” to “How much pleasure is God getting out of my life?” — Rick Warren (in The Purpose Driven Life)
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