Some of us tend to meander through life. We look at our calendars and it feels like a series of meetings and work appointments, with couple of meals and a few hours of sleep thrown in. We get up every day, get dressed and plunge into the day’s work. We try to keep our necks above the water with deadlines and, at the end of the day, we fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion. Only to repeat the cycle the next day. And the next.
Do we stop to consider what the point of this rinse-repeat cycle is? Do we ask ourselves if we are living out our purpose?
Perhaps, you’re saying, “Whoa! Hold on. What is “purpose,” anyway?”
To answer that, we begin with a definition from our friends, Merriam and Webster. Here’s how “purpose” is defined: something set up as an object or end to be attained.
While that covers a part of the definition, we believe that purpose is much more than a goal to be attained.
Purpose is a confluence of the core of who we are, of what motivates and moves us, of what gifts we bring to the table and what brings us fulfillment.
Your purpose greater than getting that promotion you’ve been eyeing or getting admission to that reputed university or even getting a certain number of zeros on your paycheck.
Those are all possibly good things. But they are short-term goals that will give you a temporary high. Living with purpose brings lasting joy. It’s what drives you out of bed every morning and gives you a sense of buoyancy that lasts all your days. Purpose elevates the mundane and makes it magical.
Let’s take the fictitious example of a guy we’re calling, Ranjit John. Ranjit headed to the US to pursue his MBA from the world-renowned Wharton School of Business. After his MBA, Ranjit gets a job on Wall Street. He meets the love of his life, they settle down, have two babies and Ranjit continues to haul in the big bucks every month. He had checked off all the things on his goal list. But there was still something nagging him. He knew he was made for more. Despite his relational and financial success, Ranjit didn’t find a sense of fulfillment.
The problem was that Ranjit wasn’t living out his “why?”
You find your purpose when you understand yourself and recognize where your identity and your passions collide to create something only you can create.
Turns out, Ranjit needed to pause and take stock of who he was as a person and the insistent tugging on his heart. He used his financial success and leadership abilities to start a small neighborhood tutoring center for children from underprivileged backgrounds. After a day’s work, when Ranjit saw the children filing into that learning hub, he himself light up in a way he never had. He found his purpose.
When you live out your ‘why’ you will find joy in what you do.
Let us help you discover your why.
Author: Susan Narjala
Susan Narjala is a writer who blogs regularly on her website www.susannarjala.com. Her articles have been published on Desiring God, Randy Alcorn’s blog, Relevant Magazine and Huffington Post.
With a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University, New York, other publications she’s written for include: Indiaanya, FaithIt, Her View from Home, The MOPS Blog, For Every Mom, The Hindu, Motherly, Engage Magazine (Ravi Zacharias International Ministries) and Parent.com.
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