What, Where is Your Purpose?
By living intentionally, we discover that our purpose stares us face to face, day by day
To have a purpose means to have something you’re looking forward to with reasons backing them up.
As simple as that right?
The urban dictionary defines purpose as a reason to stay alive, a meaning to existence.
Again, as simple as that right?
Unfortunately, the answer is no for a lot of us because we tend to overcomplicate the true meaning of purpose to be something unreachable, ambiguous, intimidating, and should be gratifying? (Well, it is gratifying to have your purpose accomplished, the difference is the mindset we pursue it with).
Purpose as defined above gives us the reason behind any action we take. It is doing anything that puts you in a flow state.
It could be as simple as a reason to rise from your bed in the morning, cook, clean, update your journal, sing, visit a friend, phone a colleague, hang out with family, pray, etcetera.
Another factor that makes a difference with our perception about purpose is understanding our reasons for wanting them in the first place.
I am guilty of this complexity as I used to think fulfilling one’s life purpose always had to be something life-changing, monumental, groundbreaking, and to be honest, a sort of destination to be reached.
But what I missed to realize is that fulfillment comes from doing what we planned to do, accomplishing what we set out, understanding why they didn’t work out as and when due, and showing up every day to the different life dynamics other than expecting it to be a giant to reckon with or a mountain to be torn down.
One of the best ways to find our purpose is by living intentionally. This means paying attention to ourselves and our daily activities. What we constantly do pronounces who we are, our values, our beliefs. Therefore, learning to tap into our spiritual realms through prayer, meditation, real-time reflection, would make us mindful of how we are living and thus frame our thoughts towards what our true purpose is.
Our purpose change every day
As we are not the same people we were a few months ago likewise is our purpose for the day and year ever-changing. Your purpose is not the same all the time. As you learn new things, improve yourself in many strata, expose yourself to things outside your comfort zone, do the things you love, etcetera, it would most likely rearrange or eliminate some of the things you once considered purposeful.
And it’s not a bad omen.
Our purpose could be something simple
Some of the mundane tasks we engage in every day can form the routine that explains our values as a person. There’s no need to overwrite this as boredom or relegate it to what boring people who have a lot of time on their hands do. Because the truth is, cleaning up your personal space ahead of visitation, for example, goes to show you’re considerate of yourself and other’s hygiene, which further explains that you’re health-conscious (a big plus). Even though it might have appeared as a long boring clean-up day. Think about it.
What we do every day defines us whether we like to admit it or not.
Our true purpose is defined by and can be found in the simple things we do every day.
Our purpose could be something huge
This is the part I always misconstrued to be the “real” purpose. The kind I pray for all the time to acknowledge and fulfill. The kind I might be failing to understand that I am already fulfilling in many other ways.
But yes, another truth is, your purpose could be a giant snowball, huge mountain, or whatever term you’d like to use to qualify something big.
This type of purpose is usually a calling. The type that feels like an explanation for your existence.
Fulfilling your calling can emanate in the form of a talent, skill or expertise, or all of the above. It’s mostly to do with something you have a flair for. For example, your purpose in this sense could do with philanthropic activities and humanitarianism. Where it feels so effortless to execute your roles or duties expected within those categories.
I tend to see myself as an experimental creature. Everything that happens with or around me always serves as a lesson for the next person (a lab rat if I want to be more derogatory). As a result, I loathed myself for being such a curse. But what I failed to understand was that my experiences were teaching others solid lessons to prevent them from passing through similar ordeals or educate them on how to manage them exemplarily. As such, I’m already fulfilling my calling.
Now I believe that my purpose is to be there for somebody else in any way I can — nothing grandiose or infinitesimal. I always thought I would achieve this only when I become popular and successful in this line of work: writing, motivational speaking, and communicating. But I was wrong. I’m already fulfilling my purpose by taking a leap and writing what I can, inspiring who I can, and impacting positively into the lives of whoever I can around me— no matter how little.
I fulfill my purpose every day as a new mother caring for a child.
A purpose doesn’t always have to connote a happy ending to it or successful accomplishment to it. I am still looking forward to becoming all I’ve anticipated through this writing journey and whatever thing else life has in store for me, however, starting now and so small have already begun the journey for me, and in it, I find my sense of living.
A different purpose for different folks
Everyone’s purpose differs but more than one person or group of people can share or have a similar purpose at any one time. What you must understand, however, is that everyone is on their journey to fulfillment therefore you cannot wish upon yourself what somebody else has nor exhibit jealousy when they’re accomplishing what looks like their purpose and you seem not to have — yet. You have to focus on your path and make do with it.
Our purpose stares us in the face every day, it’s more like a journey and not a destination to reach. It is the things we do day-by-day that define what our purposes are. The goals we try to accomplish, the help we render, the compassion we exercise, the peace we give, the love we share, and also the ease with utilizing our skills, talents, and expertise that enable us to fulfill our purpose every day. Learn to live intentionally and you’d already been fulfilling your purpose on earth on a daily. It’d provide us with clarity about what matters hence clarity about what does not — Cal Newport
Nothing else.
