Purposes and Distractions

I always want to point out the positive things in life if I notice them. One positive thing I have noticed is that people think about having a purpose in life at a much younger age. I don’t know how old I was when I even started thinking about my purpose. I’m guessing it wasn’t until my mid-thirties. Young people these days seem to be thinking about it before they even leave high school. When I talk about purpose, I’m not talking about going to school and getting a degree. I’m talking about making an impact in the world that we live in. I spend a lot of time still trying to figure out if I am on the right path. I know I want to help people. I know I love to communicate and get people working together. A lot of people that I come across don’t like to read books or write about things. They also don’t like to speak in front of people. So, when I see the benefit of those things, I think I should try to do those things. Does that mean it’s my purpose in life? For now, I want to say yes. For now, I want to focus on doing better in those areas to try and improve. I want to be a person who isn’t afraid to offer words of encouragement. Part of being a good communicator is being able to listen. I need to continue to work on that.

         Let’s say that you are pretty sure that you know what your purpose in life is. What keeps you from fulfilling that purpose? Over the last year or so, that seems to be my focus. Too often I feel like I have a clear direction and then next thing I know I didn’t accomplish anything in that area. I say I am going to write; the week is over, and I haven’t written anything. I say I am going to post things more often, next thing you know it’s been a month, and I haven’t posted anything. I really wanted to do a podcast. I love listening to podcasts and I think that you can learn something in less than twenty minutes, so it can be a good learning tool for almost everyone. So far, I have made an introductory podcast and an episode one. Why, what is keeping me from doing something I enjoy?

One thing I think about is clarification. Am I clear on what I am supposed to do and how I’m going to do it? That is one thing that I think has hurt me over the last year. I think I have a gameplan and then when I am in the middle of it, I realize that my gameplan wasn’t as good as it needed to be. So now, I am hoping that if I take a small step back, I can take lots of steps forward. So, for the sake of this article, let’s say I now have clarification on my purpose. What is stopping me? Distractions! I’m horrible when it comes to distractions. Sometimes it’s the TV, other times it’s my phone. I also like to blame people. If someone needs me, I must focus on people, right? I have to eat, I have to sleep, I have to work. Those are legitimate things to think about. So, at the end of the day, week, and month, I have done nothing towards my purpose. I need to realize what I want long-term is way more important than anything on tv or social media. I don’t want to get to the end of another year and feel like I am lost. I want to finish the year strong; I want to feel like I am working on a regular basis towards what God wants me to do. Later this week I am going to write on the blog about the life of Samson. Samson was a man who knew at birth that God was going to use him. When he knew his life was almost over, he asked God for one more chance to use him. That is one of my biggest fears. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and have to ask God to give me a chance to fulfill my purpose one last time because I have spent a lifetime being distracted. Let’s learn from the life of Samson and do better.