Do You Live Life On Purpose?

A man holding a compass indicating living with purpose

Often we float throughout days without ever asking ourselves this question – do you live life on purpose?

To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I asked myself that question.  I have certain goals and ambitions that I’m working towards, which gives me a framework of activity and tasks that I choose to do.

And then there’s the day to day mundane stuff that we ‘have to do’.

But what if we actively chose to live more purposefully.  Said yes to more of the things that we truly desire. And said no to the things that zap our energy.

Living with purpose is something you hear a lot about right now, and sometimes it can be framed as though having a ‘purpose’ is this elusive thing that we must strive for.  But what if it just meant living with a bit more clarity and direction?

To what extent can we really live with purpose?

And ultimately, how much freedom do we actually have in choosing how we spend our time, in reality.

Do we have total control over how we spend our time, or are there other factors, such as responsibility and duties, that other people rely on us for?

But there are lots of ways in which we can bring purpose, both in what we do and how we choose to do it.

Free resources

I’ll be exploring the theme of purpose this month, so stay tuned to the blog and podcast for more.

And for this month’s newsletter, I’ve created a free mini guide on ‘How To Live Life With Purpose’, if this is an area you’d like to explore more.  Sign up to the newsletter here to receive your copy by email.

 

Photo credit:  Jamie Street on Unsplash

5 Ways To Help You Take Action

Take a leap and take action

 

 

 

 

 

Getting started and keeping going are often the hardest things to master when we’re trying to achieve something.  Here are 5 ways to help you take action towards your goals.

  1. Be realistic about how far away you are now, from where you want to be. If you need a lot of work, it’s going to take a while to get there and it won’t happen overnight. And you may well encounter problems or disappointment on the way. Prepare yourself that this will take effort but recognise that it’s worth it.
  2. Write a short, achievable to do list and work through things one at a time.   It might help  to get the most niggly one out of the way first for a bigger sense of achievement afterwards.  Reward yourself positively with time off, your favourite leisure activity or some self care.
  3. Allocate non negotiable time slots into your calendar – even if it’s just 10-15 mins a day.  It’s much easier to stay committed to smaller chunks of time rather than a one off longer session.  Make sure it’s time that you will use to focus only on this task and nothing else.
  4. Act when you feel inspired to.  And notice when you feel most inspired to act, or when you come up with ideas. If you struggle to get motivated sat at your desk, get up and do something else, go for a walk, take a shower. Ideas are more likely to come when our brains are at rest and we’re switched off.  Notice when things work for you, so when you have an important task to do, you know what you need to do first, to get in the right mood.
  5. Check in regularly to make sure that your actions are taking you in the right direction, and make any changes quickly.  Also, remember to recognise the progress you’ve made, and give yourself credit for what you have done.

Making any change is an ongoing process.

Acting on tips like this can keep you on track, and will help you to take more consistent  action.

It’s really easy to talk ourselves out of something,  or beat ourselves up if we don’t feel we’re doing enough.  If you’re doing something regularly,  then you’re doing enough.  Have faith in yourself and keep accountable, and you will get there.

Next steps

And if you’re looking to make some big changes, check out my new digital guide ‘How To Find Your Spark – The Weekend Project’ – details available here.

Photo credit:  @kidcircus via Unsplash.com