What Is A Purposeful Life?
What do you think about when you hear the phrase "a purposeful life"? I am hoping that your mind is filled with positive thoughts of what "could be" rather than "what is not" at the moment. We all have to pave a way in life and allow ourselves the opportunity to create something worth sharing to others. It is not about what we cannot control but it is about what steps we can make to bring some sense of control in our lives. Please note that I completely understand that life can bring some unstable situations but the true point I am trying to drive in this article is the choice of implementing change that can offer purpose and stability in life.
What is the definition of being purposeful? The term purposeful is purely to be intentional in what you do. When you think about life sometimes things occur out of acts of randomness or accidently. However, when you add the term purpose or purposeful this requires action and 100% a plan to be implemented. In my blog post Why Eating Family Dinners At the Table is Important, I focus on the benefits around this concept of being purposeful. There is an intentional positive reason for getting the family together at the table.
All of us as individuals usually have a passion, goal, or values that we are working to obtain. This alone gives us a sense of purpose in life and the happiness and willingness to want to share it with others. I must admit it is not always easy to live a purposeful life because there are obstacles that usually present themselves. However, we can make subtle changes to lead us to whatever that end goal is and our vision of life.
3 Top Reasons Why We Are Not Living A Purposeful Life
Feelings of being overwhelmed-We may find ourselves feeling as though there is so much to take on in life. This can lead us wanting to give up on the goal we are trying to achieve. The mindset of looking at a list of everything that we need to get done and complete can sometimes provide us a sense of defeat. The thought that may come to our mind is this is impossible and the load is too much. In return nothing gets done.
Laziness- This is a BIG one because to be a purposeful person it requires work. Individuals can find themselves not having the drive or motivation to put a purpose into action. The thought of having to get up and be actionable may be the very thing that turns some people away from wanting to move forward. We can self talk ourselves in believing we are incapable of performing to reach this goal in life.
Not having a plan-Some people have the drive and motivation to want to get things done and move forward to the next step. What makes this point miss the mark of creating a purposeful life is that these individuals don't have a plan. They are just running with no map or blueprint to get to where they want to be. This causes individuals to feel as though nothing works or they are wasting their time. In return it leads to the feeling of wanting to give up.
Now that we've viewed some reasons why we can fall short of having a purposeful life, let's take a good look on tips that can guide and lead us to success.
5 Strategic Tips On How To Live a Purposeful Life
Make a true effort to set a goal-I want you to take a moment to just think about it. How many times have we found ourselves coming up short on something just because we don't know what we are aiming for? I want to briefly take into my guidance lesson that I have recently done with my students. I shared with them that a goal is a target and something you are aiming for. For instance a soccer player is trying to make a goal however, the player can't just kick the ball anywhere. They have to aim it towards the goal to make a score. This is the same analogy when we are trying to create purpose in our own lives.
Take time out to create a plan for that goal-There are so many people that are masters at creating a goal and know exactly where they are trying to go. However, some miss the mark by not knowing HOW to get there. When we speak about being purposeful we are speaking about being intentional. A huge piece of this is creating the path to get you there. This is translated into a plan. Not just a plan but a well thought of plan that will take you one step closer to that goal in life. A simple example to use for this would be a goal of wanting a clean house. Remember it is better to take baby steps rather than no steps at all.
Look to a higher power- There may be some people who may not believe the same when it comes to God. However, I would definitely say a huge piece of living a purposeful life is finding spirituality. This is simply done by having connection with something higher and bigger than ourselves. It shapes the way for us to search out the meaning in our own personal lives. What is Spirituality defines in detail the difference between spirituality vs. religion. Most people believe that both of these topics have the same meaning, but there is a great difference between them. For the purpose of this article it is important to know that creating a purposeful life is based on spirituality and not religion.
Know and understand your "why"-When you think about your "why" you have to think about the reason and purpose you do what you do. It is so important to dissect this tip because your "why" is usually what ties everything together. Your goal, plan, spirituality, and how you view yourself can be the outcome of your why. We as individuals want to build a life full of purpose maybe because of our family. We want our household to be filled with love, security, and worth. Our "why" may also be built around past experiences and the motivation to create something that is worth sharing with others.
Positive self-talk-To start developing a life that is purposeful it is crucial for individuals to affirm themselves. It is almost impossible to create a life that is full of growth, worth, and value when we speak ourselves down. If you truly believe you can't then more than likely you won't. I educate my students about positive self-talk to help guide them through tough times and to build their confidence in different situations that are presented in their lives. A healthy practice when you wake-up in the morning is to write down an affirmation on a sticky note and place it on the mirror in your bathroom. It is something that you can read and review as you get ready for your day. This action alone can help motivate you in moving forward in your purpose. Feel free to read some examples of positive self-talk here.
Putting It Together
We all work so hard to create a life full of purpose. Our lives are made up of different areas that we continue to master and improve on, such as our mental and physical health. We strive to build purpose within our families, marriages, and financial stability. One thing to keep in mind as you are on this journey is to create balance within these areas to truly flourish in life. You have the power, ability, strength, and drive to create YOUR purposeful life.
Resource
Comments