Here’s what a life that’s lived on purpose actually feels like to me:
- Waking up with a sense that your life matters — even on the ordinary days
Because the ordinary days are what’s real – that is what matters. That is what is every day and our constant. Having a sense of purpose and meaning on the normal and regular days is part of what brings me so much joy and happiness. I am sure it does for you too.
- Using the gifts God put in you in ways that feel natural, meaningful, and alive
They can even be small thinks like the gift of encouragement, prayer, sharing with someone when you are thinking about them – they don’t have to be what you would think are big things.
- Feeling truly connected to the people around you, not just busy with them
That means taking time for real engagement, listening, conversations, taking in the moment and being present.
- Letting go of what doesn’t matter so you have room for what does
That means taking an inventory of all the things in our life, taking time for reflection and deciding what is important, what is a priority and what are some things that you need to let go of so that you can make room for what is important – being intentional with purpose.
- Making peace with being human — the joy, the grief, the mess, and the beauty of it all
Guess what – it turns out that you and I are human… and that means that sometimes life is a lot. Sometimes life is good and happy and joyful
But it also means that sometimes life is messy and sad and hurtful and disappointing.
It means that sometimes things don’t go our way no matter how much you pray for them or want them.
It means that you can be grateful and disappointed at the same time – is anyone else like me and have this idea in mind that if I have two different emotions about something – that, that makes me wrong – I have felt like that for a long time and I am not letting that make me wrong anymore – it’s just human!!
Of course, you are going to have more than one emotion about circumstance, about people and situations – that is normal and it does not make you wrong or a hypocrite – it makes you human!!
And no that same note of being human – that doesn’t mean that you always have to act the way that you think you are supposed to act or should act – there is an entire range of human emotion and feelings that God created you with – you can express those and it does not have to mean that you are having an ugly heart if they are not always positive – it means you are human and that is how God created you – that is how God created me!!
And – it does not serve either one of us well to ignore our feelings and emotions – that is the exact thing that keeps us stuck – that is what leads to a place of losing who you are and not knowing what you think, being afraid to voice your opinion and keeping yourself small – that’s how you lose yourself and who you are as a person that is how you lose your creativity and expression of who you are by ignoring you!!
You are important – you matter – how you feel, and think is important and matters and you owe it to yourself to be you!! Yes…And Also – God is always pruning us – be open to that as well – He will take care of what He needs to take care of in your heart and mine – but you can always be our authentic self and that does not make us wrong!!
- Noticing the small miracles woven into everyday life
One of my mentors has a saying that she looks for the miracles in the every day – in everything … I love this idea and am trying to be intentional about practicing it more.
You may not always think there is a miracle but if you are open to seeing them – you will begin to see those miracles that are right in front of us, but our brains were not paying attention to them.
Our brains do that, right? It’s the same scenario where a new vehicle catches your eye, in that certain style and certain color… then – all of a sudden you start seeing that exact vehicle everywhere – now your friend may see all the blue ones because that is the one they like but all you see if red… everywhere – no blue ones – that is how our brains work – you see what you are looking for – so start looking for the miracles in every day and you will find them all around you and you will be a better human for it!!
- Feeling steady, present, and quietly excited about what’s ahead
This means knowing that you know – all is going the way it is supposed to go even when you and I don’t know what the next step looks like.
This comes from knowing that God has got you.
This comes from knowing that He has your path already paved for you.
This comes from trusting that EVEN IF your next steps or your future is NOT what you wanted it to look like – that God is working it all for your good – EVEN IF and WHEN it does NOT make sense you to EVEN IF it is NOT what you had planned!
It is being intentional with your thoughts, it is being in the moment and present with who you are, where you are, and truly present as you do life with the people around you.
It is trusting God and knowing that He is a good good Father and He only has be best intensions for you.
It is hope. It is belief in God that knows so much more than you and it is trusting Him with your future.
- Staying open to learning, growing, and being shaped along the way
A life that is lived with purpose is one where you are continuously growing, learning, being a better you today than you were yesterday.
You have to be open to being sculpted and pruned by the Lord.
You have to be open to self-reflection, being self-aware, and having a mindset of what do I need to stop, what do I need to start, and what do I need to continue – you have to be open to continuously moving forward with intension and purpose – whatever that looks like for you.
- Taking brave steps toward what matters, even when you don’t feel ready
Courage – that is what doing the thing scared or when you don’t feel ready looks like.
The thing is – your brain is designed to keep you safe and that means that doing anything out of your comfort zone is going to throw up a red flag in your mind and your brain is going to scream – NO DANGER – DANGER!!
When in reality you are not being chased by a lion or a bear and need to go hide in a cave!! – that is not the case at all!!
So, you have to be intentional about renewing your mind – taking those thoughts captive and moving forward even when your brain is telling you to stop!!
Even when your brain says – okay – you were brave and you tried the thing and you weren’t great – maybe you need to stop now.
Guess what – you need to tell your brain that no one is good at first. Everyone has to put in the reps of practice and doing it again and again.
You have the choice of deciding what your thoughts will be – which will then create a feeling and an emotion which will then prompt your actions!!
You have that ability – you have that control and power – there is nothing else in the world that you have control over really – besides those three things – so use them well and use them to help you create the life you want with intention and purpose!!
- Living with a heart posture of gratitude, courage, and joy
In all things be grateful.
Be grateful for where you have been, what you have been through – whether those were joyful or heartbreaking – both serve you – if you are open to letting them. You life experiences have all shaped you into the person you are today. They have brought you either what felt like wins or what felt like lessons
Pay attention to the positive and the negative and be grateful so that you can use them to appreciate where you are now and look forward to what is ahead.
Courage as we talked about earlier – is doing the thing anyway even though are don’t feel ready – even though you may be scared.
What are you going to allow those feelings to mean about you – you do have that choice – the choice of what you allow your feelings to mean… you can make them mean that you are not enough or you can let it mean that you are new – and of course you aren’t great yet, of course you are nervous, of course you will get better with each time you show up.
Joy – joy is easy when things are going well. Joy is simple when you know the plan and the plan is working out exactly like you hoped it would.
But – did you know that you can choose joy when things are not going how you planned. You can also choose joy in the middle of disappointment and heartache? Living with a heart posture of gratitude, courage and joy all work together in living a life with purpose and meaning when above all you are grounded in knowing whose you are – knowing who you are, being open to seeing the miracles the Lord gives us each day, even if it’s in the beauty of a sunset or the richness of the green grass you walk on, and being open to allowing the Lord to sculpt you into the person He wants you to become. Being open to being intentional about purposefully taking your thoughts captive, renewing your mind and creating the thoughts, feelings and therefore the life you want to live.