In our lifetimes we all have had a purpose in life having had things that we wanted to achieve, meeting our perfect soul mate, building an amazingly successful business, getting our bodies perfect, having a wonderful loving family, but for many of you these have failed to materialize, and unfortunately, life has turned out very different to the one you dreamed about long ago when you believed in your possibilities.
You may be somebody who finds the life you are living so difficult, filled with hardships and problems, every day seems nothing more than a fight for survival, your future looking no better than your past. All that hope that you once had has evaporated leaving you frustrated, disappointed without hope, and having absolutely no purpose in life.
No matter who you are, we all experience bumpy roads during our lifetime. The more important question is how are you choosing to handle the bumps, challenges, obstacles in your life?
The natural reaction is to become stressed and tense. We often allow our challenges to have emotional dominance over our body, mind, and spirit. Alternatively, we can choose to fight on and have goals that inspire us.
The real question is, how do you keep moving forward when the odds seem to be stacked up against you?
Throughout my years of turmoil I never once gave up on my dream of publishing books that could change people’s lives. I may well have faced health problem after health problem, but not once did I consider even for a second giving up on my dreams. In truth, they were the only thing that gave me the strength to keep going. While dealing with visual impairment, breathing problems, cancer scares, and lots of other issues, I also found myself very much alone. But even the feeling of isolation didn’t diminish my determination to bring about the future I imagined, the perfect one.
My goals proved to be my strength.
They inspired me to keep going no matter how hard life may have been. Staying positive and goal-oriented is very easy to do when the going is good. The true winners in life are the people who can persist when times are tough and it seems the whole world seems to be totally against them. My health wouldn’t stop me, will you let your problems and difficulties stop you?
You see, it’s not about how hard you get hit; it’s about how hard you can get hit, but still, find the strength to keep moving forward. It’s about having the will to continue in spite of the obstacles.
The message the Rocky films deliver is one of hope, courage, and determination when life hits hard. In each successive film, Rocky was confronted with various life crises, ever-stronger opponents, and his own aging body. Throughout the series, Rocky came to define the perennial underdog, continually drawing strength from the struggles he faced to overcome the odds and succeed compelled by his purpose in life.
If you are in a situation right now where it seems like quitting or defeat are your only options, they’re not, you can still find the strength to drive yourself forward.
The courage and persistence to keep going on, past hurdles and obstacles, is powered by purpose. Your purpose. You have to discover what it is, tap into it. Then achieve it through having goals. By remaining focused on your goals with everything you do, every day, in every way, you cannot help but be encouraged and inspired to keep on going.
When you pick your tasks carefully so that the work you do matters, keeping that ultimate goal, your purpose in life, in mind as you do it can be remarkably motivating. When you find a purpose in life, giving up is not an option.
Every one of us is ultimately trying to improve our life. We want more zest, energy, more meaning. In the strictest sense, we each want to lead a more fulfilling, interesting life.
I want you to be able to wake up in the morning excited, jumping out of bed with a thirst for life that you haven’t felt before, or at best not for a very long time.
Your purpose can be the driving force for this. Your purpose can be your connection to something larger, something that will allow you to make your mark on the world, to truly make a difference.
Victor Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, says that the fundamental drive in human existence is the need to find meaning in life. Putting yourself into an activity that goes beyond you can make the difference between getting by and feeling fully alive again. The most exciting, fulfilling, surprising life adventure belongs to those who boldly embrace their calling.
What do you want to stand for? What Difference Do You Want to Make? To who? How? How are you going to change the world? How do you want to be remembered? What will your purpose in life be?
