There was a time in my life when I thought my life lacked purpose and meaning.  What I did not learn until later in life is that we manifest the meaning of our lives.  No one else can do that for us.  Sometimes we rely on others perception of who we are to help define us.  We accept the idea that how others define us is how we truly are.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.

You define who you are. 

You define your purpose and your meaning. 

Change Takes Courage.

Living life with purpose and meaning sometimes takes change and courage.  Any change in our life is an act of courage.  Change is scary!  That is why there is such apprehension with change.  But also, we tell ourselves we are used to the way things are.  So we become reluctant to change because making a change comes with uncertainty.  We have no idea what life is like on the other of change.  So rather than explore a change, we settle for status quo.  Change is often necessary to grow as a person.  Change can provide new opportunities.

Courage is about living the life you deserve.  Live your life according to your purpose and how you define both.  Courage is about facing the perception others have and choosing to own it or not to own it.  It takes great courage to stand up for oneself.  It also takes great courage to learn to say, “no” to people or tell them you do not agree with their perception.  Perception is not right or wrong.  Perception is a view and varies from person to person.

How do you summons courage to live your life’s purpose?

Make a Plan.

Living life’s purpose starts with the desire and drive to just live, truly live!  Once that desire begins to burn and that drive causes you to move into action, you need a plan.  Without a plan, you will have chaos and life will lack order and peace.  For example, have you ever gone to the grocery store without a list, what happened?  You ended up with things you don’t need.  And that time could have been used for something better than walking around the store.  If you have a plan or a grocery list, you have a clear sense of what is needed and what direction you need to go or which aisles you need to shop in.  So you make a plan.

Define Your Priorities.

Making a plan begins by defining your priorities and/or basic needs  If you take care of those things first and always, then your plan will be even more focused. I know some of you are thinking this is a selfish approach, to take care of yourself first.  Taking care of self is not selfish.  If you do not take care of yourself, you cannot care for anyone else.  And you most certainly cannot adequately focus on your true purpose.  An intrinsic part of self-care is breathing.  Sounds funny, huh?  Breathing?  I do that naturally and without thought.  Yes and no.  Yes we breathe.  But no, we rarely take time to become centered, calm and focused, as in mindful breathing.  Mindful breathing can help us tune into our true purpose.   It helps us tune the outside world out and tune into our inner-self.  Breathing helps us find peace.

Get Organized.

Another important part of the plan is being organized.  Organize your thoughts, your vision and how to make hopes and dreams become reality.  No different than when you make a grocery list.  Some make a simple list of things they need.  But, if you are quite anal, like me, you make a list according by aisle – starting at the back of the store and moving forward to the registers.  This helps me make my trip to the store more efficient.  Organization helps eliminate chaos.  So if you define what you want to accomplish and how to accomplish it, you will have a road map on how to achieve your goal.

Often in life we are thrown from the path or we come up against an obstacle in our path.  One of the biggest obstacles we face is over scheduling or over indulging.  To overcome this, we simply need to learn to say no.  That no may be to friends who want you to do something that goes against your core belief.  Again, it takes courage to say no.  Sometimes that no is to you.  Maybe temptation wants to steer you down familiar territory because you revert back to fearing the change that is unfolding.  Accept the change and allow yourself to move beyond the fear.  Learn that saying no is OK and sometimes necessary to living true to yourself and your purpose.

Now here is a little secret.  You may do all this self-meditation, self-care and organizing and find that you are moving down your path a lot slower than you hoped.  This could be that you have yet to accept that your purpose may not be defined yet.  That too is OK.  Be open to change.  Accept the courage and live in the moment.  Your life’s purpose will just be.  All you can do is live this life the best way you can, make good choices and experience all life has to offer.  Your legacy will speak for itself.

Always live the life you deserve!