Your Need To Know

This is the third installment from 25 TIPS FOR A BETTER LIFE in 2009

TIP #3 – When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement: “My purpose is to  (Fill in the blank) today.”

- or – My purpose is to… be the best person that I can be…wear a smile all day and make someone else smile….do something special for someone else…to work toward my major goal of_____ ….to tell someone I love them…work on being more patient….empty my inbox today…..

My Purpose for Today vs. My Purpose for My Life

A ‘Purpose for Today’ is a great way to start the day on a good note which generally carries on throughout the day.  A ‘purpose for today’ will often set your mood for the rest of the day.   Such a small thing to do compared to the possible rewards.  This is true because as we know, we become what we think about. Even if we are thinking of something for only a short time, it has and does make an impact on our subconscious.  Making a ‘Purpose for today” statement WILL effect your actions and choices that day.

As I have said before, everything is a habit. It has been said it takes about 30 days to form a new (or break an old) habit. Try the simple habit of waking up in the morning and professing “My purpose for today is_______.”  Make this something that will make a difference, however small, in your life or the life of someone else.  After all, self-improvement or living a better life doesn’t have to be an all-consuming task.

To awaken each morning with a smile brightening my face; to greet the day with reverence  for the opportunities it contains; to approach my work with a clean mind; to hold ever before  me, even in the doing of little things, the Ultimate Purpose toward which I am working; to  meet men and women with laughter on my lips and love in my heart; to be gentle, kind and  courteous through all the hours; to approach the night with weariness that ever woos sleep, and  the joy that comes from work well done – this is how I desire to waste wisely my days.  Robert Louis Stevenson

My Purpose for My Life

You may have a purpose similar to the examples above for each day, and you may have a grander, greater purpose that is your Life’s Purpose.

Why do you think you are here on this earth? Most of us want to feel what it means to be alive.
“Man is not in search of the meaning of life, but what it means to be alive. Joseph Campbell”
Brian Tracy says, “The purpose of life is to develop loving relationships. If we can learn to love ourselves and others, we can then go on to the full realization of our human destiny.”

Do you have a purpose or do you have a feeling of purpose?

Many people feel as if they have no meaningful purpose. Some even feel as though their life on earth is a punishment of some sort.  If they make the right choices, do the right things, they may get to move on to something better someday.

Having a purpose is essential. Having a purpose is more important than your talents and abilities in creating and shaping your life. Defining a purpose in life is one of the most significant steps you can take in achieving personal success. 

I’m not necessarily talking about money when I talk of personal success as money alone does not make you a success in life (although being financially free is a worthy goal – after all, we can’t enjoy life if we’re worried about not having enough money). I’m talking about successfully fulfilling your dreams, being happy and content, and having peace of mind.  Success is a feeling of personal fulfillment – a feeling we are becoming everything we are capable of becoming. Success is a journey, not a destination. Ben Sweetland

Living With Purpose

Living with purpose is one of life’s greatest joys. The desire for purpose exists in every human being.  We can begin to grow and improve as human beings when we seek our purpose, and our purpose intensifies the more we pursue it.  Knowing your purpose, while being true to yourself to work toward it, is the best way to prepare for a life full of worthwhile accomplishments.

Having a distinct purpose will help you to be the person you would like to be. We all have an ideal self that we are constantly trying to emulate.  We want to be like that person.  We continually have thoughts and mental images of the person we would like to be and we are constantly adjusting our actions and behaviors trying to be more like that person.

To help you define your purpose, ask your self these questions: What do I want out of life? What does it mean for me to be alive? What do I do well?  What would I love to do?  What would I do without being paid for it?  What do I want to accomplish in my lifetime?

A dear friend of mine tells me her purpose is to be a wonderful and loving wife and mother; to raise her children to be happy, productive members of society; to teach them to live with honesty and integrity.  I thought it was wonderful that she knew what she wanted to do and be. And I think it’s wonderful that her days are centered around that purpose.  Living her purpose is the thing that makes her happy.  Her success is measured in her happiness and in the happiness of her family.  She will be remembered for the impact she has made on the lives of others.

You should not feel as though your purpose in life is to go to work every day, toil your entire life at a job you may hate, just so you can retire some day living a meager existence, just hoping that somehow things will work out.  Life is much grander than that.  Pursue your dreams and goals.  Know your purpose.  Search your heart and you will find it.

Living without purpose allows other people’s purpose to influence and direct our lives. If we are living without purpose that is exactly what is happening. We need to make sure we are in charge of ourselves. We must be self-reliant and our success is assured.

Steve Pavlina (Personal Development for Smart People) offers some insightful reading on your life’s purpose and how to discover it.  How to Discover Your Life Purpose in about 20 Minutes.

Do you have a “Purpose for Today?” Have you uncovered your purpose in life?  Please share with me and my readers and let us know how “Living with Purpose” has changed your life.

Gina

Technorati Tags:Personal Development, Self-improvement

There was a young surgeon from Wales who was the son of a miner. His father worked long hours at low wages in the coal mines. As a boy, the surgeon had to go to school barefoot because his father could not afford shoes for him. Fruit and meat appeared on the table twice a year at Christmas and Easter. Buttermilk, potatoes and tea were the main staples for this family.

One day the young man said to his father, “Dad, I want to be a surgeon, and I’ll tell you why. A boy I’m going to school with had cataracts. The eye surgeon operated on him and now he sees perfectly. I want to do good like that doctor does.”

He father replied, “Son, I have set aside $8000. that I have saved over twenty five years. I have saved it for your education. I would rather you not touch it until after you have finished your medical schooling. Then you can use it to open up a beautiful office with all the necessary equipment of your profession. In the meantime, the money will be drawing interest and you will have that security. You know that any time you really need it during your medical schooling you can always draw on it. It’s all yours, but I would rather you let it draw interest until you graduate. Then it will be a nice “nest egg” for you.”

The young man was thrilled beyond words. He promised he wouldn’t touch the money until he graduated from medical school.

He worked his way medical school, working in pharmacies at night and during holidays. He also earned money as an instructor in pharmacology and chemistry at his college. His whole idea was to live up to his promise to his father that he wouldn’t touch the money in the bank until he graduated.

Graduation day finally came. His father told him, “Son, I have been digging for coal all my life and gotten nowhere. There is not a penny in the bank and there never was. I wanted you to dig deeply and find the treasures in the gold mine within yourself, which is limitless and inexhaustible.”

“For a moment,” the surgeon said, “I was flabbergasted and dumbfounded. After a few minutes, I got over the shock and both of us burst out laughing. Then I realized what Dad had really wanted to teach me. It was the feeling of wealth engendered by the thought of plenty of money in the bank to back me up if I needed it. It gave me courage, faith, and confidence and made me believe in myself. My belief that I had $8000. in the bank had accomplished the purpose just as well as if it had actually been on deposit in my name.”

Everything this young surgeon had accomplished was a symbol of his inner faith, vision, and conviction. There wasn’t a single penny to back him up as a student, but look at the wonders it brought in his life.

For every person in the world, the secret of success, achievement, and fulfillment lies in the discovery of the miraculous power of their thoughts and feelings. Our young surgeon acted confidently just as if the money was always there!

Gina

I invite you to read the free books that are available for download on this site. To me, they are inspirational and have helped me to achieve my own personal growth and understanding. Today I was getting my daily dose of inspiration and motivation by again reading “The Magic Story” by Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey.

Frederick Van Rensselaer Dey was born in Watkins Glen, New York, February 10, 1861. He was educated at the Havana N. Y. Academy, and later graduated from the Law School of Columbia University. Dey took up story writing for amusement while convalescing from a serious illness, and later made it his life work. Two of his earlier books, “The Magic Word” and “The Magic Story,” written in 1899, were extremely popular.

The Magic Story
I was sitting alone in the cafe and had just reached for the sugar preparatory to putting it into my coffee. Outside, the weather was hideous. Snow and sleet came swirling down, and the wind howled frightfully. Every time the outer door opened, a draft of unwelcome air penetrated the uttermost corners of the room. Still I was comfortable. The snow and sleet and wind conveyed nothing to me except an abstract thanksgiving that I was where it could not affect me. While I dreamed and sipped my coffee, the door opened and closed, and admitted - Sturtevant.

Sturtevant was an undeniable failure, but, withal, an artist of more than ordinary talent. He had, however, fallen into the rut traveled by ne’er-do-wells, and was out at the elbows as well as insolvent.

As I raised my eyes to Sturtevant’s I was conscious of mild surprise at the change in his appearance. Yet he was not dressed differently. He wore the same threadbare coat in which he always appeared, and the old brown hat was the same. And yet there was something new and strange in his appearance. As he swished his hat around to relieve it of the burden of snow dposited by the howling nor’wester, there was something new in the gesticulation. I could not remember when I had invited Sturtevant to dine with me, but involuntarily I beckoned to him. He nodded and presently seated himself opposite to me. I asked him what he would have, and he, after scanning the bill of fare carelessly, ordered from it leisurely, and invited me to join him in coffee for two. I watched him in stupid wonder, but, as I had invited the obligation, I was prepared to pay for it, although I knew I hadn’t sufficient cash to settle the bill. Meanwhile I noticed the brightness of his usual lackluster eyes, and the healthful, hopeful glow upon his cheek, with increasing amazement.

“Have you lost a rich uncle?” I asked. (continued) Download “The Magic Story” here in pdf

My task is done. I have written the recipe for “success.” If followed, it cannot fail. Wherein I may not be entirely comprehended, the plus-entity of whosoever reads will supply the deficiency; and upon that Better Self of mine, I place the burden of imparting to generations that are to come, the secret of this all-pervading good, -the secret of being what you have it within you to be.