Thou Hast Purpose: Three Commandments to Purposeful Living

Many people struggle with self-worth and finding their purpose. Many people struggle to see their value. The typical 9-5 everyday hustle of life seems to erode away a person’s inspiration and creativity. This lifestyle kills their passions. When a person lacks passion, they are unable to find their purpose. Passion leads to purpose, so when your kill passion, you essentially break the compass to purpose. Think about it. We are sold the dream that we must work hard to get what we want.  So we work and work and work, 40 hours a week minimum. But companies only pay enough, it seems, to cover living expenses. Thus, you are working to exist. Let that sink in. You are working to cover your existence. How did we get to this place? No matter what your belief system, there was once a time when existing was free. If you were hungry, you picked it off the land. The land provided, it was free.  So what does all that have to do with self-worth? It sets up the mindset that we have to earn our place, earn our existence, earn our right to live. If you are unable to earn enough or perform enough to cover your existence, then it is viewed as something wrong with you. You are defective, a burden because now someone else has to pick up the tab.  The struggle is already real for an individual working hard for their existence, and then have to pick up someone else’s burden too.  The person who is unable to cover their existence then has to wear the label of burden (disabled, black, woman, crazy, ex-con, teen mom, orphan, etc.) This creates the environment for people to begin to assign a value to human life. You have to be able to justify and pay for your existence. How can you feel valuable in this environment? You must work hard, acquire things, the quest for titles and validation. Your worth is elevated when you able to cover your existence and then some and diminished when you are not. This is not the way we were designed to live. Again regardless of what you believe, science or religion, we were not made to pay for our existence, we didn’t ask the world to bring us here.  The world was designed to support life. So beloved how do we get back to this model, where our worth is not attached to striving and work.

1) Know Thy Worth

Beloved you are valuable. You are valuable because you exist. There is no price on human life. Every single life is valuable; none is of more value than others.  Don’t believe the lies society is trying to sell you. You are not worthless. You are not inadequate. You don’t need a little more makeup, to shed a few more pounds, straighten your hair, have 3 degrees to be valued. Your mistakes do not define you. With every breath you take you have the power of choice. So you made a few too many bad decisions. As long as you are breathing, you have the power to choose differently.  No excuses, now pity party, just choose better. You don’t have to earn, or justify your existence. It doesn’t matter how you got here. Planned, Unplanned, the result of a rape, abandoned.  The fact is that you are here. You were created for such a time as this. Millions or other sperms and eggs could have intersected to form a different combination of life…but the two that were meant to join, to make you merged and you are here. That is no accident, too much complexity to be an accident.  You are valuable! You are not worthless.

2) Know Thy Self

Not only are you valuable and not an accident. You were also born with everything you need in life for success. Like I mentioned before, the world was designed to support life. So encoded in your DNA is everything you need to survive. You have a complex command center in the brain that gives you the ability to problem solve. Solving problems are how you survive in this world. So your hungry, your brain problem solves. It scans the environment for things that are edible; then commands all the systems needed to take action to obtain the edible thing. Yuck! You don’t like that edible thing. So then your brain adjusts and uses creativity to find a way to make that edible thing tastier. A basic example, but it can be scaled up and applied to anything. I heard someone say “everything is figureoutable” (Kim Coles), and that is true. If you sit down and problem-solve long enough, you will figure it out. Therefore, encoded in your DNA is your blueprint for success. Your temperament, your personality, natural talents, physical appearance, and mental capacity were already programmed. Your experiences help you to develop and hone those things. Your experiences sharpen skills and teaches you application. Both work together to point you in the direction of your purpose. Inspiration, creativity, and passion lead you towards your destiny. Pain and suffering block you from walking in the wrong direction. You have all that you need to survive and thrive in this world. You are powerful. You are not a burden, having to earn your existence. You have what you need. It is more than enough to cover the cost of your life. You received it free of charge when you took your first breath. Use your power!

3) Awaken and Cultivate Thy Passion

Like I stated previously passion is the compass that points you in the direction of your purpose. If you lack passion, then you lack the drive to pursue your goals and dreams. Passion is the fuel you need to get to your purpose. Passion is what motivates you past barriers and fatigue. Passion energizes your soul and creates lasting joy. A few wins and successes randomly produce bursts of happiness. Happiness is temporary. So then you go to work, work, work to try to produce more success to get your next fix of happiness. When you chase success that is not aligned with your passions and purpose, it is an empty pursuit. It’s like traveling in your car on E, and only putting in a dollar’s worth of gas in you tank at a time. You are constantly on a stop and go. It wastes your time, energy, and wears down the car. In the vehicle of purpose, fueled by passion, Destiny has programmed your GPS. Stops are planned. You can get out, stretch, have a snack, enjoy the scenery, and journey. That is joy, it’s lasting, and fulfilling. This whole analogy is to say, you must find your passion. Passion is your life source and compass to purpose. If your passion is currently dead, revive it. Do something every day that interest you, that excites you. Flame it, watch it grow and when it becomes a blazing forceful fire that you can no longer contain. That is when it when purpose has arrived. It is action time. Take the step of faith, pursue that thing. Arise Beautiful! It is time to rekindle your passion; Your Greatness is waiting.