The Purpose Driven Blog

What is your purpose in life?

That's one of those questions that you just can't find a definite answer to no matter how hard you search. The deeper you contemplate the implication that there is indeed a "purpose" for you the more it eludes you. However, I am one of "those" people that believes everything happens for a reason...even the bad things.

I believe that it's no accident you're reading this right now. I know it sounds pretty stupid, but it's true. Maybe you're visiting this site because I'm part of your blog family and you're just being nice, maybe I left a comment on your site and you're seeing what I'm all about, or maybe you were just blog surfing and ran across this or even clicked a wrong link. Regardless, it's no accident and there must be something I have to share with you.

Most of you are probably thinking I've suddenly snapped and begun to make no sense whatsoever, but stick with me for a minute. I'm probably the least qualified person to tell anyone how to live (or improve) their life. I'm 33 years old and still have no idea what my "purpose" is or even what I want to do with my life. I've been a teacher assistant for mentally retarded children, an interpreter for the deaf, a worker at a Christmas tree farm, a movie theater assistant manager, a video store clerk, an operations manager for a multi-million dollar client and the list goes on and on. I've done so many different things that even I get lost trying to trace how it all started. I've been to the top and back down to the bottom again, and I still don't know what I'll be doing next week.

Does this type of behavior make me lazy, apathetic or even indecisive? I don't think so. I take life one day at a time and go wherever the road takes me. Sometimes it takes me on detours that I would rather not encounter, but they all seem to serve a purpose. Every job I've had and every person I've known have taught me some small lesson. In life the key is recognizing and applying what you've learned, otherwise you will inevitably make the same mistakes over and over again.

I realize I've made mistakes and I know I'm not perfect (a fact that I agonize over). I strive for perfection in everything I do, even this blog. I think I must annoy many people just because I am so detail oriented even in the most mundane tasks.

Some people use the phrase "You're stuck in a rut," but I believe I just create a lot of dead ends for myself. To me a rut indicates you're stupid enough to stay put, which I never do. I start a new road each time which eventually leads to a another dead end then I start a new road. I'm not sure if the "dead end" mentality is better or worse than being "stuck in a rut" but I have to believe it is all leading to something. Why do I HAVE to believe that? Because if I didn't, then I wouldn't have much of a reason to continue existing.

I don't think that I have any truly profound point to make or some startling insight to your life. I can only offer the advice to believe in yourself. I've been trying to avoid sounding cliche, but that's nearly impossible with the topic I've chosen. The only way you are going to get anything of value out of this post, or a book, or a conversation with a friend is if you WANT to get something out of it.

Take a minute to reflect on why you do the things you do. If your actions hurt someone why do you continue them? Are you even remotely happy with your life or completely indifferent? Most people don't like self examination because they don't like what they find. My attitude is if you don't like what you find then ignoring it won't make it go away. Evaluate the things you don't like about yourself and make honest, realistic goals for areas you want to change.

Why should you even listen to me? That's completely your choice, but if you've read this far you're either coming with me on this one or just seeing how I get myself out of this mess.

My point to this whole post is not how you can improve your life, but just that you HAVE a life...treat it with the respect it deserves and be grateful for every moment you breath. Life is sorta like customer service - you rarely hear about the successes, but you ALWAYS hear about the failures. Just because you don't get a pat on the back at every turn doesn't mean you have failed somehow. Have enough confidence in your own self-worth that your "purpose" may be just around the corner.