Your Purpose May Evolve And Change As You Do… And That’s Ok

I’m sure throughout this challenge you’ve been thinking a lot about living with purpose and what that means to you right now. I hope you’re living more intentionally already and are changing things here and there to better align with your purpose. You may even discover your big passion and your calling and working towards making that happen. That’s great, but there’s something we haven’t talked about much. It’s that we all grow and change as time goes by. And with that our purposes change.

Let’s say you’re a mother of small children. Right now, living with purpose may mean to spend as much time as possible raising your kids. That may mean becoming a stay at home mom, working only part time, or working from home. That’s great, but don’t feel like that can’t change as time goes by. A few years from now, the kids will all be in school and you find yourself with more time on your hands. It’s perfectly fine to switch focus and get back into your career or try something completely new. Things change and evolve. You change and evolve. Your purpose may evolve as well and that’s perfectly normal and how it should be.

That’s why it’s a good idea to occasionally take some time and think about what’s important to you and make sure you’re still living a purpose driven life based on your current values and ideas. It’s ok to change and adjust if things no longer feel like a good fit. While it’s something you can do “on the fly” as you move through your days and weeks, it can also be helpful to stop every few months and take time to really think about this.

We are creatures of habit and will often stick to a plan, an idea, or a routine because that’s how we’ve always done it, or out of a desire to tough it out. While that’s admirable and there’s certainly a time and place for this, it’s also good to take some time to reflect and second guess what you’re doing.

You want to live your life intentionally and with purpose. That means you should always second guess yourself and make sure you’re doing is a good fit and the best way to live purposefully. If it is, great… carry on. If it isn’t, make some changes until what you do aligns with your purposes.

Renew Your Spirit, Re-energize Your Life

[Note: This post was originally posted on my Reward Your Success site with an additional paragraph.]

The sun beats down on you with unrelenting ferocity. Sweat trickles across your heated skin like little hot spiders. You wipe your forehead with the back of your hand, but it only transfers the salty condensation from one place to another.

Someone hands you a tumbler of ice water.

The rivulets trickling down the sides of the glass are little icy angels singing of shade and cool breezes. You pour the cold liquid down your throat, and all the cells in your body rejoice. Within moments you feel you could do anything, accomplish anything!

THAT is renewal.

Not Only But Also

I’ve written about reinvention a lot lately, but this past weekend I realized that’s not the only opportunity for change we face. A dear friend helped me understand that we need time to renew as well. In fact, we’re much more likely to need renewal more often than reinvention. Even if we’ve reinvented ourselves, we face obstacles and challenges on our brave journey. Renewal gives us a chance to reflect, adjust and rededicate ourselves to our goals.

Variety is the Spice of Renewal

Renewal can take many forms, depending on how harrying your journey has been lately. At its most basic, renewal is the pause that refreshes. Take stock in how you’re feeling–mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. Record your thoughts in your journal, and while you’re writing, review your current goals. Remind yourself of how far you’ve come. Do something just for you. Take it easy for a little bit. Stretch–your mind or your body. Pray for strength. Contact a friend. Smile at someone. Share your moment with others so they’ll benefit from the renewal as well.