FINDING PURPOSE IN LIFE DURING DIFICULT TIMES

The following blog, along with previous blogs written, is based on issues from various patients I have worked with over the years. If you wish to no longer receive these blogs, merely e-mail me at lifesourcecenter@aol.com, stating “Do not email future blogs” and your name will be deleted from the mailing list.

Mark Twain is quoted as saying “The two most important days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.

You have heard it asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”  Far too many people never find the answer to that question. Regardless of age, they live in a rut, going through a life that others defined for them. However, regardless of age and one’s circumstances in life, it’s never too late to change one’s outlook and find one’s purpose.

Finding purpose can bring forth hope. The process to achieve this requires plenty of self-reflection, listening to others, and finding where your passions lie.  Finding purpose helps you feel worthwhile and increases the possibilities of making a difference in the world, regardless of your daily trials and tribulations.

It is all too common for people to go through life engaging in the all too familiar day in day out routines. Thinking about getting more out of life can be especially difficult to think about during this pandemic time. With the lockdown in many places, the options for getting out and finding purpose and meaning seem limited .  But with a little ingenuity, you can implement lessons in living that can even be passed on to those you leave behind in this life.

Finding purpose can be as difficult or simple, depending on your attitude and perseverance in achieving your goal.  We are on this earth a finite amount of time. However, while here, you can make a positive impact in your life and that of others. Think hard about what your gifts are. Don’t minimize, dismiss or take them for granted. Instead think about how pursuing them can result in benefiting you and others in the world.

It matters little if whether or not, your purpose in life is big or small  What matters is that it gives you pleasure and enjoyment and is something you look forward to doing. What  you end up doing is your choice.  What matters is that you make the effort and try. It may end up not being as fulfilling as you had hoped, don’t give up, try something else.

You can not accomplish this by sitting back and allowing life to go by. Rather immerse yourself mentally in what’s going on around you.  Begin to become aware of unmet needs within your own family, your local community, as well as in your world community. It could be to commit yourself to be more involved with your grandchild, joining a community action group that reaches out to senior shut ins or becoming part of a global commitment to get Covid19 vaccines to underdeveloped countries. The list of opportunities are limited only by your imagination, talents and motivation to make a difference in your life and that of others.

Everything that involves the search for one’s purpose in life has some type of cost.  There is no free lunch. If you try something that you think will give you purpose, remember that it will not be all smooth sailing.  There are choices you will need to make that will result in ups and downs. Ultimately, what determines your ability to achieve a sense of purpose is to be able to handle the setbacks along the way and ride out those bumps in the road.