How Do You Know Your Purpose
Know your purpose so completely that you don’t stop. Getting stuck makes everything more difficult. Momentum driven by purposeful actions keeps you from getting stuck. It gets difficult when you stop going.
#QuoteoftheDay
Until you define your purpose,
you will risk being stopped
by the frustration of not being sure.
– Kathryn Lang
I grew up around folks that went mudding almost any chance they got. It wasn’t the top priority on my to-do list, but I went on my fair share of adventures. Along the way, I learned a few things about making your way through tough terrain.
One of the most important lessons was about stopping. YOU NEVER STOP. You can slow down, if you must, but you never stop.
When you stop, you’re stuck.
Once you’re stuck, you have to get out in the muck, work hard, and usually call for help. In other words, what should have been an enjoyable outing becomes more difficult all because you stopped.
What Causes the Stop
I looked around and I felt like I was so far behind that I would never be able to catch up. The other runners had crossed the finish line or were making sprints in that direction. My feet weren’t even on the track.
The day before, I had tried by sending out a few queries, a couple of resumes, and making progress in what I thought was the right way. Getting rejections and “we’ve decided to go a different direction” letters deflated my tires.
I stopped.
When you stop in your life journey, you get just as stuck.
When you don’t know what to do, you end up stopping.
Until you define your purpose, you will risk being stopped by the frustration of not being sure what step to take.
When you compare yourself with others, you can end up stopping.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, is on your journey. If you are looking to someone else for confirmation or understanding, you’ll always miss. You are on your journey. You are running your race. You can’t be behind because it is YOUR race.
When you don’t get into the race then you don’t have to worry about stopping because you can’t even start.
Understanding your purpose gives you the focus to take a step even if you don’t recognize the full race. If you stay in the stands, you’ll always stay stuck.
You have to know your purpose to keep going. If you stop, you get stuck. Once you get stuck, it gets messy. If you start with purpose, it makes it easier to keep going.
Stopping Makes It Harder to Go
The other day. I was walking with my husband when we started up a hill. In my defense, from the distance, it didn’t look all that bad. This hill is proof that looks can be deceiving.
Halfway up the hill, the sun started beating down on me. My energy melted away. I turned around to walk backward and stopped for a moment “just to enjoy the view.”
I turned back to face the deceitful hill and I’m pretty sure that it had grown while I was looking at the view. Even if it hadn’t gotten steeper, it was now more difficult. I had stopped.
Stopping required I find my momentum again.
Things will happen. Detours, roadblocks, and moments where the pavement just ends will cause you to stumble. It’s okay to slow down. It’s even possible to shift directions. But if you let it cause you to stop, your energy will melt away and it will be harder to get going again.
Don’t stop.
Find YOUR way to keep the momentum going. And that really is the key. It has to be YOUR way. Even the best plan or process won’t work for you if you don’t work it. And you won’t work it if it doesn’t fit with your design.
Keep your momentum going and keep on taking your purposeful actions. Be intentional in what you do by knowing your purpose and focusing on YOUR way, and it will be easier to keep going.
Application of Intentional
You don’t accidentally reach your BIG DREAM goals. And you don’t accidentally drive into a ditch. It can be an accident, but the accident is created by little bits that add up to the ditch driving moment.
It takes intentional actions to get to where you want to go. And intentional actions are directed when you define your purpose.
Know what ignites you.
Your purpose stems from your passion. Your passion is rooted in your heartseed – that uniqueness of you that was planted in you by God at the beginning of time.
Understand what frustrates your walk.
When you know what causes you trouble, you can build up the armor required to protect your persistence.
Take time to prepare.
You can’t stay on the path if you haven’t plotted a path to take. Preparation makes it easier to get things done. You save time with preparation. Most importantly, intentional planning will provide the flexibility you need to deal with the unexpected twists and turns of life.
When you know your purpose and you pursue it with intentional actions then you can keep going. Whatever you do, don’t stop.
- Don’t stop believing.
- Don’t give up.
- Don’t lose the dream.
Keep going, even if it’s a little slower. When you keep moving and you refuse to stop then you won’t get stuck.
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What caused you to get stuck the last time you stopped?
Share a moment when you found a way to keep going.
