Keys to a Purposeful Life

Nowadays it seems like everyone is either trying to find their purpose, learning to walk in their purpose or helping others discover their purpose. Many of us are on a quest in search of deeper connections, meaning and a reason to live. We see other people doing what they love and enjoying it and we want in! How can I experience the happiness of knowing that I’m doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing AND I wake up everyday looking forward to it? This is the question many of us have. One of the many quotes I love is one by Mark Twain that says:

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why (your purpose).

If you don’t know what your purpose is then it can be difficult to find meaning in your life and know why you are here. It can make it harder to keep going in life. I think in “discovering” purpose many people, including myself, get stuck on thinking about it and trying to figure it out. More times than not we kind of have an idea of what our purpose is, but the problem is we just get stuck on the action part of that purpose, the walking. We know what we love to do, what brings us joy and what we could probably do for hours without even getting paid, but how we get there seems to be the “hard part”.

On my journey to living out my purpose there have been some important lessons I’ve learned and still learning. It has been through The Ladies Lounge that I have learned that true purpose is found in helping others, in some form or fashion. From working in the medical field to doing yard work, construction or IT. When you think about it, the work that we do affects others in some type of way – whether directly or indirectly. And while most of our desire is to do things we love, there’s also a desire to impact others in some type of way (if not, then I just don’t know what to say about you lol..JK 😉 ).

Let me share with you some keys I’ve learned and also discussed with close friends along the way.

Stop Overthinking and Just Do It

Sometimes we talk ourselves out of things. We have a million and one reasons why we can’t do something from not having time, to being worried what others will say, to not having enough money and the list goes on. How many opportunities have we missed because of overthinking and negative self-talk? It comes a point in time where we have to stop thinking and just do. We have to put action behind all those goals and dreams we talk about. Year after year many of us write a goals list or create vision boards only to allow them to collect dust. One of the greatest keys in living a purposeful life is action. Who cares if you don’t know where to begin, many of us don’t, just do it! Who cares if you don’t have the money you think you need, just do it! Who cares if someone else has the same idea, yours might be different and better, just do it! A dream without action is just that, a dream.

Lead from your heart

What brings you joy? What makes you happy? What I’ve learned is that when walking in your purpose, the heart wins over the head. Meaning, in your head your focus is the end result, but it is in your heart where you will find what brings you the joy that will propel you to the end result. When you allow your heart to lead you into a purposeful life you will not only begin to find the motivation to act but you will see things coming together much better and clearer than you would if you’re leading with your head.

Make your own mark

We all have heard the saying, “stay in your lane”; it’s so necessary. Many times we can get caught up in loving the lives of those we follow on social media and because we want to be as successful as they are we try to follow their exact steps or model our purpose after theirs. The truth is that no two purposes are going to look alike. God has a special purpose for each of us, some of us may do the same thing, but our journeys to getting there, our delivery, our steps are going to be so different. So when we get in this mode of trying to follow what someone else did in order to reach their level of success, we not only cheat ourselves but we cheat someone else from receiving the specialty that we each have to offer. For me, it was like once I stopped trying to mimic others and not only allowed God to take over but allowed my heart to lead, that’s when things clicked for me.

Follow your passions – why can’t you do them all?!

Your passions lead you to your purpose. Do you love decorating, drawing, writing or singing? When you work at your passions, whatever they may be, it leads you to what you are purposed to do. What about when you have several passions and want to do them all? Do them, all of them! Who says you can’t?! The key is to learning when and how to do what. Of course you wouldn’t launch all your ideas and projects at once, so start where you can with what you have and build from there. Get to a point where you are comfortable and able to launch the next project and go for it! Build experience, momentum and credibility in one area before going to the next.

Help someone along the way

What good is living out your purpose if you don’t share what you’ve learned with someone else? Helping someone, especially with something you’ve experienced yourself, gives a sense of accomplishment for we are here to be of service to others. Sometimes when people reach “the top” they not only forget where they’ve come from but they also are stingy with their knowledge. This is counterproductive because no one gets to “the top” alone, there’s some type of help they received along the way, and true purpose is found in serving. So, no matter how far along in your journey you get, it’s helpful to you and others to reach back and help out!

Ready to be a Purpose-Driven Woman? Learn more here!

Until next time…