What is Your Purpose?

By the end of high school you should have some idea of what you would like to do with your life. By 30 you should have already settled in that life. By 40 you should be in a groove, and riding that train to retirement.

While this chain of events may work for some, for most it doesn’t quite unfold that way. What I hear are a lot of should’s, but not much thought into what things could be. Many people are tormented by this idea of having a purpose.

For a good portion of my life, I fell into this trap. The idea that there was something I had to obtain in order to find my happiness. There was this thing that I would do or have that would unlock the meaning of life. While it was a great scavenger hunt, it had me flustered and spinning my wheels for many years. Whether it was finding a different job, obtaining more education, –

I wish I’d had had someone tell me that I didn’t need to follow a map to go through my life. That I could get lost in it, and relish every moment of what I’d discovered. That as a woman, I didn’t need to censor and silence myself, and I actually had more say in how my experiences would play out. Most importantly, I wish I’d always known that I was enough, and really I have nothing to prove.

However, though the quest brought many memorable experiences. It was not worth the mental anguish. It was like searching for the needle in a haystack, but the needle really wasn’t there.

There isn’t just one thing I like to do.

I love to experience many different things. When I go to a new country, my thought isn’t “I can’t wait to come back” I’m normally thinking about where to next.

I believe throughout our lives we will have many purposes. If you haven’t read my post on repurposing your dreams, I suggest you check it out. However, the gist is we are ever evolving, ever changing, so why do we think our “purpose” is one elusive thing? What if we looked at it differently, you are the purpose, and whatever you are doing is what your purpose is at that time. I know this sounds extremely new age, but it is only when I began to think in terms of this, did I feel a shift in my own personal life. No longer looking at life as this thing to conquer, but as an experience that I can create.

I see so many people miss the beauty of life because they are stuck on the idea of what it is supposed to be. It’s like going on a road trip and closing your eyes until you reach your destination. You miss the beauty of the journey.

Your purpose isn’t something to be found, but instead something which if you allow will find you.

Questions to Consider