By Melanie Kreifels, SWSM Managing Editor
You were made on purpose, for a purpose, and you have value because you exist. That’s a powerful concept for one to engage. Maybe for some even have a hard time believing it. As we are wrapping up 2021, I’m pondering how I want to finish the year while looking ahead. Intentionality is defined as the ‘fact of being deliberate or purposeful; the quality of mental states (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, desires, hopes) that consists in their being directed toward some object or state of affairs.
I don’t know about you, but thinking about living with purpose may sound daunting and loaded with the letdown of unmet goals or experiences that didn’t go as expected. A piece of intentional living includes elements of releasing as well. Are there broken dreams and places in your life where you need freedom? It can be scary to release something (or someone) you’ve held onto for a long time. Releasing may be a literal separation, or maybe it’s an alteration of your expectations. There are moments in our lives where accepting things as they are instead of what we thought or want them to be is very powerful and freeing.
If I’m made on purpose, for a purpose, then I want to do my part in searching out that purpose by living intentionally. I’ve come to a place where I don’t wish to let past shortfalls hold me back any longer. I don’t believe it has to be daunting if we break it down into manageable pieces. Ladies, we can do this! I’m investing in my goals and dreams for the next year by getting a planner that includes one with faith goals to lead and develop all aspects of my life. There are many to choose from so find what works best for you to help build decisive action steps of purpose.
Choose items to focus on that are essential to you or ones that may need improvement. Maybe it’s financial goals (getting out of debt, saving, investing), or perhaps it’s relationship goals by spending more focused time with the ones you love. I have a goal of tackling one household project a month, and whether it’s cleaning out my office (ugh!) or going through my closets and actually taking items to the thrift or resale store, if I break it up over 12 months, it feels less overwhelming. Having a purpose and setting goals doesn’t only consist of things we don’t enjoy; we should include items that bring us great joy. Making hobbies a priority is an excellent way to engage your creativity and discover your purpose.
This fall, I found a new television show that looks interesting, which doesn’t often happen anymore. The show is called ‘Ordinary Joe’ whose lead character Joe lives out three different scenarios in his life. Essentially parallel stories are running as if he had chosen one path over another, so you see how decisions in one path impact another unknowingly. Of course, we can’t know how life would have played out if we had chosen different paths or relationships, we can only speculate, but it got me thinking about how we make decisions in life and their ripple effect. If you are like me, I don’t want to look back on life with regrets!
Maybe it’s because I’ll be 50 next year, and I’m certainly living the second half of my life, but I find myself wanting my days to matter—to have a purpose. Believing that life, relationship, experiences can be what you make of them makes me want to live with great purpose and living to the fullest right where I’m are planted. Yes, ladies, we can do this!
