Living on Purpose

To get the most out of life, it must be filled with passion and significance. For this to happen, you need to know what your purpose in life is. When you discover your life purpose, or better yet when you are actually living it, you are filled with an overwhelming feeling of joy and fulfillment. It gives you the way to direct your values and passions in a meaningful way. Your life purpose is the foundation of what makes you a unique and special individual, it is the very essence of who you are.

People can be divided into two categories in terms of having a purpose in life. There are Leaders and Sleepers. Leaders are out there taking charge and responsibility of their own lives, have a compelling passion for life and are respected for what they achieve in their lives. Sleepers are those who meander aimlessly through life with no purpose. Leaders thrive on overcoming adversity on their path through life. While sleepers are just waiting out their time before they expire. When a Leader meets a challenge, it is head-on until they are triumphant. When a Sleeper finds a problem in their way, they turn around and wander away. Which are you?

There are numerous inspiring tales throughout time of Leaders who appeared to know what their destiny was in life and spent most of their lives accomplishing greatness. While that's awesome, most of us are not that fortunate. We get to discover our own destiny and alas the majority often discover it very late in life, if at all. So to make your adult life much more rewarding and easier, let's go about discovering what your life purpose is.

Lots and lots of people mix up their life purpose with their role in life or career (such as mother, father, husband, wife, teacher, lawyer or many other roles). While these are just vehicles by which you can achieve your life purpose, and are not by themselves your life purpose. For example, your life purpose may be to help people achieve wellness. This can be done through the roles of doctor, nurse, ambulance officer, dietitian or many others.

Being aware of what your purpose is in life drives you towards numerous achievements and allows you to live a full passionate life. There are two elements involved in discovering your life purpose. They are your highest values and your strongest passions.

Your highest values are the base level beliefs, morals and standards that guide your behaviour and make you, you. Other things in your life may change, but these values do not.

Your strongest passions are how you express and share your values. These are what you absolutely love doing in life. They may include specific skills or talents you have. As well as things you would love to do someday but haven't tried yet.

Defining your purpose in life can be done in 4 simple steps and requires only some paper and a pencil. Divide the paper into two columns and on the left list your values and on the right your passions.

Values are those things that describe you as an individual. They can include such character traits as love, humour, strength, creativity, compassion, resourcefulness. you can come up with at least 5 to 8 relevant to you.

Then list how you express that value, these are your passions. For creativity it might be artistic endeavours, dance, problem solving or whatever is right for you. They are what you love doing or would love to do. They can include goals and dreams you plan to have in your life.

Now looking back at your column of values, select the top three that are extra special. The MOST important ones for you. The three that there is no way you could live without them.

Finally take these top highest values and their related strongest passions and create your own mission statement. The following statement is just a basic guideline.

"My purpose in life is to [highest values] through [strongest passions]"

My own mission statement is "The purpose of my life is to create and inspire with beauty and wisdom to help myself and others learn and grow even more."

Use you own words until you get a mission statement that feels right for you. CONGRATULATIONS!!! You have just discovered the purpose of your life. Now go and live it. And know that you are the master of your destiny and can change or modify your mission statement as you grow and change as an individual.

Living on Purpose

Looking for Happiness

Happiness is that elusive thing that we are all looking for and striving for. Everyone seeks to be happy and live a more fulfilling life.

Happiness is just an attitude, a feeling of contentment and satisfaction with yourself and your place in the world. Here are some thoughts that will help you in your search for happiness.

Learn to Relax Take your time to enjoy the small things in your life, slow down and just enjoy being. Aim at reducing the things that cause you stress whether it is work, time commitments, relationships or other demanding situations.

Experience Joy Be aware to laugh more often, sing and dance whenever you get the chance. Express the joy that is inside you. Create an atmosphere of carefree joy.

Focus on the Future Set some optimistic long and short term goals and pursue them with a passion. The effort you make in achieving these goals will bring you personal satisfaction and more joy.

Practice Forgiveness It has been shown that people who hold on to anger and grudges have greater health problems. Old hurts and resentments only pull us down. There is a saying "would you rather be right or happy?" So choose the path to happiness and let go of the past.

Be a Friend Develop a positive peer group around you, people that make you feel good about yourself and help you towards your goals. Take the time and make the effort to establish good relationships with people by supporting them and giving them your attention.

Smile More Not only do you look better but smiling and laughing is good for your health. Studies have shown that people who smile more are not only healthier but also more successful, so grin and show it.

Give it to Others Often when we are struggling with life it is hard to see outside of your own world and sphere. That is why it is important to take the focus off yourself and take the time to help others. It doesn't matter whether it is assisting a friend with a home renovation project or a stranger by giving your time and effort to charitable services, giving back helps you as much as the other people.

Mainly though you can be happy when you make the decision to be happy or in the words of Alian-Rene Lesage "I am happy and content because I think I am."

Looking for Happiness

JOY

I am so lucky to always have Joy in my life. She is my step-mother and is a Joy by nature as well as name. So it is a running family joke that our family occasions always includes Joy.

Yet it is important that we not take Joy for granted. How do you find Joy in your life? That blissful, peaceful happiness that too often comes at a high price. When we learn the lesson of mortality and suddenly what seemed to be important you realise isn't. Things that used to annoy you, don't seem to be significant. You learn that what is really important are the people who you love and who love you.

Imagine that your time is limited, because it is!! Then every moment will become precious. When you step outside appreciate the flowers as it may be the last flower that you see. Time then becomes a gift instead of something to race against or kill or a burden. You can choose to spend it with the people you love doing things that bring you Joy instead of doing things that are meaningless. You can wear what ever you like and not be concerned what others may think. When you live in the now even the weather becomes fascinating rather than a problem. That frost covered windscreen turns into one of mother nature's awesome works of art instead of a nuisance.

Take Joy and pleasure from what lies around you, be in awe of the beauty in the world. Really consider the quote by Dr Bernie Seigel "Seeing something for the last time is almost as good as the first." Pretend that you are an alien every morning and see the world as if you were seeing it for the first time. or just go back to childhood and allow yourself to experience that child-like wonder where even a leaf or a worm can be a pleasure to behold.

Today I ask that you bask in the beauty and the variety in the world before you and discover all the places that you too can find Joy and Love in your personal world.

JOY