Life Purpose

One could be lost because you couldn’t define your life purpose? Everywhere I turn, I read or am told I must find my purpose to be happy. What I mean by “life purpose” I am talking about defining a specific action that you can dedicate your entire life to. Purpose means doing something that has a positive effect on others, giving or sharing something that has a strong emotional outcome on yourself and others, or working to change a social structure that might not completely happen in your lifetime. I am not sure how or why we are all under the impression that the main goal in life is to be on a constant and an avid search for your soul mate. We’ve been on a seemingly never ending journey seeking this other half of our being. You have to find that happy medium of whatever satisfies you.  

Find that perfect balance of how you personally want to love and be loved. If you want to achieve something, it's important to make the goals concrete. Make sure your goals are things that you can accomplish on your own. Don't be afraid to change your plan along the way, as long as you're not giving up on something you still want. Aspirations change over time and that's perfectly fine. This may sometimes require making a difficult or "less safe" choice, but remind yourself that you need to step outside of your comfort zone at times in order to achieve your goals. Try setting small, very attainable goals for yourself and celebrating each time you meet one. This can be small achieved, doing 5 push ups, getting up 10 mins early, then the normal routine, learning a few new works in a different language, be it small do celebrate it, this will create a sense of accomplishment and will motive achieve more. If you have physical or mental health problems, be sure to get the treatment you need. Ignoring your symptoms will only cause the problem to become worse, and may inhibit you from leading the happy life you deserve.

Don't compare yourself to others. The truth is that you can only see another individual's life from the outside, so it's not really possible to compare your life to theirs. Instead of even trying, focus on all of the positive things in your own life. Social media makes it even easier to compare yourself to others. Set a time you spend on social media, use it to learn, find the right sources for knowledge. Instead of thinking of yourself as a failure when you don't achieve a goal, use the situation as a learning experience and set a new goal for yourself. The best thing to do is break contact and face the pain, which will pass with time. Allow yourself to feel emotions, but try to stay busy to keep your mind occupied. Try to do something new every day to keep life exciting.

New friends can expand your horizons, which is always a good thing! Don't be afraid to talk to people who are different than you and try new things. Don't feel like you always need to have someone with you to enjoy these experiences. As a single person, you can choose to have adventures with friends and family or alone. The important thing is to make sure you’re so full of self love, that you know you can live with yourself alone, until someone comes along that compliments you instead of completing you. 

Living “on purpose” means you live intentionally. You can look at your life and feel “all is well.” I believe that is what we are experiencing in the stage of life we call midlife. Work on being aware of what you celebrate, are grateful for, and what makes you smile and laugh in the present. Setting goals to repeat these events could be more significant than setting your sites on an elusive purpose. Quit weighing yourself down with the need for purpose and your fear of feeling unfulfilled at life’s end. Instead of seeking to have it all, seek to feel as if you have it all already. Your life will unfold with more ease and grace.