“I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow
into a mountain,
not to shrink to a grain of sand.”
Og Mandino
There are many, many books that will talk to you about finding your purpose, loving life and how you can be happier with whatever situation you find yourself in. Perhaps I will write one myself one day. But, as you leaf through the pages of various books or wander through the myriad of websites that offer the same or similar advice, you begin to realize just how complex the process truly is.
This becomes all the more true as you continue to age gracefully and are faced with the new kinds of dilemmas that will make you want to give up at times. So, how do you continue to move forward when life is giving you more than a few reasons to give in? What will make you want to conquer those hurdles that stand in your way, especially when no one else really seems to care if you make it? If you have not found it so already, you will soon see that this is tough. It is important to remember that you are not the only one who goes through these hard times. If you’re feeling lost and don’t know what to do next, there is one thing that can lead you back to your course, and that is your purpose.
Life’s Purpose
You are here for a reason. It does not matter where you come from, what you look like or what kinds of issues you have faced in the past. Different people have different belief systems when it comes to religion and theories about people’s roots and beginnings. But you must find that one thing that will define you as you grow up and grow older. You have to find your reason for being here in the first place. You must eventually figure out your purpose to know where life is leading you or where you think you want to be led.
Here are some suggestions to begin your quest…
1. Acceptance. You must accept who you are and what you are capable of doing. You have to learn to love yourself despite your imperfections; and we all have imperfections. After you have learned to do this, you will understand things better. You will be able to start looking at things from a different perspective. You will also be able to see things clearly by being honest with yourself and knowing your what your strengths and limitations are.
2. Gratitude. Look at the things around you. Look at what you already have. Look at other people and how they live their lives. You must learn to appreciate all of the things that make you similar as well as the things that set you apart from the rest. You have to be able to give credit where it is due and place importance on the vital aspects of who you are and what can you do. You must appreciate other, and appreciate yourself.
3. Perseverance. Life is a ongoing and ever-unfolding journey. Sometimes the roads that you have to travel seem hard. But that should not stop you from going forward and moving toward your goal. You must look deep inside to find the fuel or the force that will drive you to keep moving and to keep going despite the situation or circumstances. Not all days are tough, though. And, after the dark or hard days, some light and brightness will come in to make the ride a little easier. We talked a little about this on a previous post, “Resilience.”
4. Set a goal. What do you want to achieve in life? What is the #1 goal that you want to attain as you get older? These are some important questions that can take you years before to sort out an answer. But the answer, once you have already found it, will make you appreciate all of your hard work and will give meaning to everything that you do, have done and will do in the future. It will also give you new fuel to press on and love your life!
Thoughts?
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/h-k-d/4463607584/sizes/z/in/photostream/
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