As I began to personally question who I was and what I was about, it hit me..........I was doing lots of great things with no real understanding or thought as to why I did them or the purpose for doing it. Rose could you do this? I would say..... “oh...OK” Rose could you do that.? I would answer back with... “Oh...Ok....sure”. was it that I was afraid to say NO. Did my fear of not speaking up as a child or teenager affect my ability to speak up for myself now? Why did I end up saying yes to everything and then resent it later? It is because I was not sure about my own identity or more importantly what I was created to do and be.
So you have heard all of my extended summary of my own journey in identifying or not identifying purpose. I know you the reader may be wondering....so how does one find and figure out YOUR OWN PURPOSE? I will give some pointers, but when you get a moment, go on the web and type in John Stanko. This person is the Guru of finding ones purpose. He says that the first thing we need to do is write a purpose statement. We can only do that when we can answer the following questions. From the answers we get, it will become our guiding post. For example you could say : “my purpose is to work with children under 5 and help them to communicate effectively”. Our purpose may also be “to make people laugh and bring joy to people’s lives”. Sometimes we think we need to have a long, eloquent and detailed statement. NO not at all.
My general purpose statement is:
“Through excellence and creative insight, I empower so as to bring about change and order.".
Now that I have written this statement, I was met with another hurdle....in which capacity would I accomplish this purpose? As a teacher a singer and performer, a trainer and facilitator, a leader? I strongly believe that God allows is to use the gifts we already have to establish what he has called us to do. There are no rules or boundaries as to where we can thrive or operate to fulfil what we are called to do and be. As a starting point ask yourselves these questions and answer them as fully as you can.
1. What situations seek you out that I don’t go looking for?
2. Is there a problem that always finds its way to you to be solved?
3. Is there a certain type of person to which you find yourself drawn to and with whom I enjoy effective work or ministry?
4. What kinds of jobs or ministries have given you the most joy?
5. What do you love doing and would not mind waking up to everyday?
6. What would you do for free?
7. What compliments have people given you which you don’t think are very special or even spiritual?
8. What are you really skilled and good at?
9. What do you do that brings so much joy that you don’t realise the time has gone?
For many of us we are doing or have done courses and exams at university, school and college that we disliked and have regretted. We have taken A’ levels, Masters’ degrees, Diplomas and jobs that we had no interest in, but took the advice of a parent or teacher that it would be the best thing to do. Whatever we choose to do in life, the reality is, time is ticking and every decision we make that seems to be the wrong one, costs us time and sometimes heartache. My advice is listen to your heart and do what makes you smile and have fun(this may not suite your family or fit into their ideal for you). There is enough tragedy in this world and we don’t need to also live through the tragedy of doing the wrong thing in our own lives.
When you read the stories of business and entertainment moguls such as Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey and many more, the one defining and common denominator has been, they have all followed their hearts. They originally started out being part of the norm (whatever that was), doing the norm and lived up to the expectations of their family and friends. They were trying to do and be what THEY(people out there) wanted them to be and do. What did these moguls do that was different? They dreamed and took the risk in following what they were interested in. They took the risk in following their heart s and dreams. This does not mean they did not have struggles, on the contrary. They operated outside the norm and ordinary. They have become what is known as ‘Outliers’. An outlier is: ‘something or someone that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body.’ An amazing book to read which highlights this is: ‘Outliers, The story of success’ by Malcolm Gladwell. To conclude this piece on purpose, I wanted to refer to key highlights from the speech by Steve Jobs in 2005 whilst addressing students at
“Find what you love. To be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. The only way to do great work is to LOVE what you do. Keep looking and don’t settle. If today was the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to do today? If the answer is no, too many days in a row, you need to change something. Our time is limited and you will not waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma (which is living with the results of other people’s thinking). Don’t let the noise of other peoples’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they(intuition and courage) somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
God wants us to be happy and live a fulfilled life and walk in our purpose. He even says it in the bible. Take a look at :
Ecclesiastes 3: 12-14
12 I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live 13 That each of them may eat and drink and find satisfaction in their toil(labour) – this is the gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will endure forever, nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
Ephesians 5: 15-17
15 Live Purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise(sensible, intelligent people). 16 Making the very most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is.
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