Purpose: an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.
On the American Lady’s first anniversary post I shared a quote that I had recently come across:
Make large goals, that way if you only get halfway there, you will be far closer than if you had made no goal at all.
What does that idea say to you? To me, it says to live with purpose, to be highly ambitious – but also to appreciate the progress that you are able to make! Perhaps you didn’t reach your enormous goal, but you got so much closer than if you hadn’t worked towards it at all!
That’s what living with purpose is all about. Working towards a goal, giving it time, effort, and energy. And then celebrating the milestones along the way! Celebrating milestones is imperative – for they will help to drive us to keep working, even when progress is slow or obstacles overwhelm us.
And isn’t that so much of how life goes? You have goals, dreams, aspirations, but depending on time, opportunity and circumstances, some of these things materialize – and some of them don’t. And we have to learn to be completely good with that!
When you live with purpose, you realize that your main focus is following God’s plan for your life. Sometimes that plan can seem straightforward and obvious, and other times you have to knock on a lot of doors and be told ‘no’ a number of times before you can determine His lead.
Does this mean that we shouldn’t make any big plans since circumstances and opportunities can change in an instance? Of course not!
I think ladies have a hard time dreaming very big. We are more wired to operate and think in the here and now. And that’s not a bad thing at all! Many times the tasks that we have in the here and now are enormous! Wives and mothers have husbands and little darlings to think of – a completely multi-faceted life and career in itself!
But what about those of us who don’t have husbands and little darlings yet? We can’t let a single moment slip by! It is vital that we use our time well – with purpose! No excuses!
I believe that every moment of our lives is mandatory in serving God and when we waste our time and efforts, we fail to serve Him to the best of our ability!
Now this doesn’t mean that I think we should always be busy-busy-busy, working-working-working. Rather, we should be intentional and give life our best effort! Not despite what we have to work around, but because of all we have been given to incorporate in our lives! So much of life is perspective and we must have a positive one!
What Needs to Change
So what should you change? Really, only you know the answer to that for your own unique story, but here are some helpful questions to jump-start your thinking:
Pray about your life. Consider it. Are you satisfied with it? Do you feel that you serve God well? Are you serving others well? Don’t forget about yourself – how are you doing? You can’t serve others well when you don’t feel your best!
What are some changes that you want to make? Sometimes dissatisfaction comes to make us aware of changes we need to make, opportunities that we need to pass on, or potential that we need to pursue.
What does living on purpose look like to you? Perhaps training your children, cultivating your friendships, or growing your business. Don’t be shy to live a purposeful life designed just for you! Don’t wait for opportunities to present themselves – go out and purposefully pursue them!
I hope these questions help inspire you with ideas on how to live with purpose! There is only one you in all the world – be remarkable!
Until Next Time!
Hope.