“If you don’t really know where you want to go, it makes no difference which road you take.”
How many of us are walking down roads that are leading nowhere? How many of us have a feeling that our lives could be happier and more prosperous but our current circumstances are holding us back and making it impossible for us to succeed?
I think many of us are so busy moving through our lives, that we don’t stop long enough to ask whether there is a purpose behind all of this activity.
We wake up, go to work, pay the bills, and simply exist—doing the same thing day in and day out because we think it’s what we should be doing.
Often we don’t bother dreaming about what we want in life because we’re stuck in the rut of thinking we need this job, this relationship, this life. It’s comfortable, and change is—well, scary.
Are you stuck in a rut? Are you afraid of change?
If you fit the “stuck in a rut” description, I want to reassure you that there is something better for you and for every person who feels they are missing out on something. You really can have so much more:
- Happiness
- Peace
- Joy
- Success
- Self-satisfaction
It all starts by following these three simple steps to determine what you want and then living on purpose.
Step 1 – Define Your Goals
A lot of people don’t have purpose, direction or even motivation to move toward what they want, because they haven’t defined what “that” is. They don’t have goals.
How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t know,” when asked, “What do you want to do in life?” or, “Where do you see yourself five years from now?”
Ask that same question to preschoolers and they’ll rattle off a whole list of things they want to be or do when they grow up. They know exactly what they want. No one has shattered their dreams or stomped on their hopes.
“Wise adults” will shake their heads and smile knowingly. “Wait until you grow up and meet the real world,” they’re thinking. It’s sad but true that many adults give up on their dreams because they let them get crushed by the realities of bills, mortgages, raising a family, and all the other pressures of being an adult.
If you reach into your deepest memory pockets, I bet you’ll still find those same dreams tucked away, just waiting for you to pull them out and dust them off.
It all starts with deciding:
- what you want
- where you want to go
- what you want to have, and
- how you want to live.
In other words, it starts with deciding to live on purpose.
Step 2 – Find your Passion
What do you want to be, do, and have?
My mentor, Zig Ziglar, says, “You’ve got to be before you can do, and do before you can have.” In other words, having what you want is not as easy as snapping your fingers.
First you have to do the work (e.g., learn how to play the saxophone or go through the necessary training to become a nurse / dancer / lawyer / fireman / professor, etc.).
We transform the “being” into “becoming” by turning our work into accomplishments.
Questions to ask yourself:
- What are you doing today to be that person you want to be?
- Are the actions you’re taking today leading you toward or away from your goals?
- How much time do you spend reading about successful people versus watching television?
The fact that you are reading this article tells me that you want more for your life and you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.
Step 3 – Go After Your Goals
Keep it simple!
- Take an afternoon away from work or the kids, and spend some time alone really thinking about your life.
- Look at where your life is today and where you want it to be.
- Write down dreams for yourself with no worry about whether they will come true or not. Just get them on paper.
My friend Tina Downey, creator of the MySuccessBox® system, recommends writing one hundred dreams for your life. Here’s how to do this:
1) Think only about what you want, and not about how you will get there.
2) Narrow those dreams down to your number one current dream.
3) Focus only on the steps you can take that will move you in the direction of achieving it.
Colossians 3:2, in the Bible, says, “Set your mind on things above.” If you set your mind on what you desire in life, you will move toward those desires.
If you focus on what you don’t want in life, that’s exactly what you will get. It’s all about deciding what you want and then living a life of purpose to make it happen.
Have you ever heard someone describe a person who is walking really fast, “as if they’re on a mission”? That’s you!
Live like you’re on a mission.
Live like you know where you’re going. Live the life you know you were born to live. Get started today by:
- Writing down what you want in life
- Deciding when you want to achieve each of these desires
- Believing you will achieve everything on your list
Amazing things happen when you believe.
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