Chi For Yourself

We start this fifth day of our series on finding your purpose with a question. What do you do for a living?

That’s a pretty big question, isn’t it? Our job, our career, and how we earn money to finance our life is a big part of how we define ourselves.

It’s often one of the first pieces of information we share after our name when we meet someone else. It’s a big part of our identity and of our feeling of self-worth.

We also spend a lot of time “on the job”. Our 40 hour work week includes commuting. And breaking for lunch. And unwinding from the long day. And of course, work itself.

With this much time devoted to our job, doesn’t it make sense to do something we enjoy and that brings us happiness?

This is why what you do for a living matters. You’re spending a lot of time training for your job, on your job, and thinking about your job.

It’s safe to say that not everyone will end up working in a job that fulfills their purpose in life. But it’s something to keep in mind when preparing to go into the workforce or to switch jobs. Sometimes, a change can be a very good thing.

On the flip side, we need to have a job that pays the bills so we can support our families. If you’re a single mom, you may consider your purpose to be to spend as much time as possible raising your kids.  

Stay at home mom may be your dream job. But with no second parent to support your little family, that may not be possible.

This is when it’s time to look outside the box. You can find a way to work from home or bring your kids to work with you.

You can work a couple of weekend shifts while someone watches the kids. This could leave you time to be there for them the rest of the week.

There are ways to make your job work around your purpose, no matter what it may be.
Keep in mind that things don’t have to be perfect. In fact, they seldom are.

Perfection is not the goal. Leading a happy and fulfilled life is.

Think about your current job. Does it work for you? What works well, and what doesn’t? What small changes or tweaks can you make to improve what you’ve got?

In other words, think about how you can change how you make a living to align with your purpose in life. Then plan to put those changes to work.

JohnK 6-5-2017

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Overheard: We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.                                    

                  ~ Winston Churchill

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When we start to make a difference and live a purpose driven life, something amazing happens. We become happier and more fulfilled. I’m sure you’ve experienced this.

It doesn’t have to be anything big like going on a year-long mission trip or setting out to rid the world of cancer. Even small gestures that make a difference can have a big impact on how you feel.

We like to help out and make a difference. It doesn’t matter how small the act is. Helping a fellow student pick up a stack of dropped books. Running an errand for an elderly neighbor. Loaning a friend a book that’s changed your life. Reminding a fellow grocery shopper of a left-behind bag. All feel good, don’t they?

We’ve been social creatures who rely on each other for millennia. In that time we’ve evolved with mental and physical rewards for helping out and making a difference. In other words, it feels good to live with purpose. It makes us happy.

It’s one of the biggest reasons why living with purpose is such an important goal. At the end of the day, we all want to be happy, or at the very least happier than we are right now.

Media messages would have us believe that more material goods are the keys to happiness. They insist we need bigger and more expensive houses and cars. And more clothes, shoes, furniture, electronics, workout gear and the like.

If only we can buy and accumulate enough “stuff”, we’ll feel better. But it’s quite the opposite. The more things you have the more you worry about their maintenance. That takes away valuable time that you could be spending on something else.

The key to happiness isn’t to own more. It’s to live a purpose driven life and to make a difference in the world.

It’s part of the reason minimalism is becoming so popular. Uncluttering your life calms you. You feel more in control. And you have the time and mental energy to move toward your purpose.

A purpose driven life is one lived within our core values. It caters to our need to cooperate and work together. It strengthens our confidence and makes us feel needed and valuable. We find that we become happier.

The moral of the story is stop buying stuff you don’t need. And, stop chasing that high-paying job that makes you miserable for 60 hours a week. The better choice is to start living your life with purpose.

JohnK 6-4-2017

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Before you take step one on the quest for purpose ask yourself a question. Is it all worthwhile?

I hope the first two posts in this series have convinced you of that. The next step is to figure out what exactly your purpose in life is. It’s a pretty big question, isn’t it?

It would be swell if I had a spot on answer for you, but the truth is that our life’s purpose is different for everyone. There is no quiz you can take that spits out the answer. It’s something you have to discover for yourself.

But I do have a few thoughts to share with you that will guide you along the way. In the end, your purpose is very much like true love. You’ll know it when you’ve found it.

What Are You Passionate About?
Start by thinking about all the different things you are passionate about. It doesn’t matter if it’s part of your current work or career, a cause, a hobby, or anything else you can think of.

Make a list and keep adding to it as you come across more ideas. Maybe it’s restoring old cars, redecorating your home, or sewing historical costumes.

What Do You Value?
One good approach to finding purpose is examining your values. What’s important to you? What do you feel would make a difference?

Do you value the right of every child to grow up in a happy home? Then you might make it your life’s purpose to raise foster kids or adopt. Do you value animal rights? You could make it your mission to raise awareness about the plight of wild giraffes in Africa.

What Elicits A Strong Emotional Response?
Think in superlatives. What makes you the happiest, the angriest, or the saddest? Strong emotion is a good sign that you’re very passionate about something.

It’s an indicator that a particular cause or purpose is important to you. It might be a passion for playing the piano. Or your passion for heirloom tomato gardening. Or your burning desire to put a stop to human trafficking.

What’s Fun
Last but not least, think about what you enjoy doing. There’s nothing wrong with finding a purpose that is also enjoyable.

In fact, it’s important that you like what you do and are having fun doing it. If it isn’t fun, it’s much harder to put in the work and effort required to reach your goals.

Of course, not every task and every aspect of what you do will be fun. For the most part, you want to find a purpose and a project that has you excited to jump out of bed in the morning.

JohnK 6-3-2017

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Overheard:

“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others.”                    

                 ~ Albert Schweitzer

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Why It’s Important To Find Your Purpose

In the Day 1 GenuLines blog post we examined what it means to live with purpose and we got a brief look at why it is important to do so. Today, I want to dive a little deeper and talk more about it. Make the decision to live your life with purpose. Then see how your purpose can have a profound effect on your life.

It Gives Your Life Meaning
When you decide on your life’s purpose, it gives what you do a lot of meaning. Every step along the way and all the work you do towards reaching your goals serves to bring you one step closer. It becomes much easier to get things done when you do them with purpose and with a firm goal in mind.

It Creates A Value System
Living with purpose also helps you define and set a system of core values. This will guide you throughout the coming years. You don’t have to waste time and energy each day trying to figure out if what you’re doing is right or worth doing. As long as it aligns with your purpose, you know you’re on the right track. That gives you a lot of confidence in what you are doing.

It Increases Your Feeling Of Self Worth
When you are living with purpose and working towards a worthwhile goal, you take a lot of pride in what you do. Each passing day and each small step that you take toward that goal. You’ll notice that your sense of self-worth will also increase. Use that feeling to propel you through the next day and the next challenges ahead.

You’ll notice that your sense of self-worth will also increase. Use that feeling to propel you through the next day and the next challenges ahead.

It Leads To Fulfillment and Happiness
Living a life with purpose gives you a sense of self-worth, and confidence leads to happiness. Give it a try during this 30 Day Challenge and create a purpose for yourself.

At the end of the month, you’ll notice that you are not only more confident, but also more fulfilled. The true secret to a happy life is being completely fulfilled by the life you’re living.

We are social creatures who need to make a difference and have a purpose, a place in society. We may think that material things bring us happiness. But what matters is how much our lives are meaningful, helpful, and purposeful.

You may find a noticeable increase in your happiness at the end of the month.

It’s Good For Your Mental And Physical Health
Last but not least, living with purpose is good for your health. Being needed, being helpful, and adding value to the lives of others. These are sure ways to have a measurable effect on both your physical and mental health.

Living a purposeful life decreases your risk of heart disease and stroke. It also protects you against depression. In fact, one of the best ways to fight depression is to find meaning and purpose in what you do each day.

JohnK 6-2-2017

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Living with purpose. It’s an interesting concept and something that can have a positive impact on your entire life. When we live with purpose, we get more done.  We create meaning in our life. And we’re happier and more fulfilled.

That’s why it’s an important topic to discuss. It’s also what inspired me to put together a 30 day series of blog posts around it.

Over the course of the month, we’ll take a look at living with purpose and how we can start to live more intentionally. We’ll look at how this will affect all aspects of our lives. And of course, I will have plenty of hands-on tips and suggestions for you.

Let’s start today by talking a little bit about what it means to live with purpose. In essence, it means that you know what you’re doing.

You have goals and are passionate about what you do. Instead of simply letting the days pass you by, you work with purpose to make the most of each day.

Living with a purpose has a couple of big advantages over mere existence. When you know exactly what you want to do with your life, you have a clear plan or path. You don’t have to get up each morning and then try to figure out what you’ll do. You get into action and keep working toward the goals you set based on your purpose.

You have a clear set of core values that you follow, based on your purpose. This will come in handy anytime you have a decision to make. Think of these values as a compass that keeps you on track.

What’s most important is that living with purpose gives you a great sense of self-worth. You know what you’re doing and you’re taking action toward the goals you’ve set for yourself.

Not only does this increase your feeling of self-worth and self-confidence. It will give a big boost to your happiness. 

In the end, that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? We all want to live a happy and fulfilled life with meaning. That’s why it’s important to start thinking about living with purpose.

JohnK 6-1-2017

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Overheard: 

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”

         ~ John F. Kennedy