Your Mission, If You Choose to Accept It....

"The smallest deed is better than the grandest intention." Roger Nash Baldwin, co-founder of the ACLU.

Ever wish life was like a giant etch-a-sketch (you remember the toy from our childhood) wherein we can call do over, shake things up and start from scratch again? I certainly have, and today I feel like with my recent change of employers, I have that chance to call do over. How exciting for me (at least I think so). Kinda scary, but exciting nonetheless.

Since I get this "clean slate," I want to make sure I implement the lessons I have learned from previous experiences and try to make an even better go of it this time. One lesson that keeps rolling around the forefront of my brain is that when I live without intention, I unintentionally fail. It is easy to look back over my life and see the failures that have resulted from not having a clearly defined purpose.

Clearly defining one's purpose is scary. It creates accountability. For many of us accountability is a yucky word. It doesn't have to be. Instead of viewing it as a limiting word (I can't do that now, because I am committed to doing this...) I have to force myself to see it as a word or process that can bring more freedom into my life. The freedom that comes from success and achievement.

Clearly defining my purpose helps give order to my world. It helps me keep perspective. It brings focus to my activities. You have heard the phrase "never confuse activity with accomplishment" - purpose brings accomplishment to my activites. When I am living without purpose, I often feel overwhelmed because I don't know what to do next. As a result, I feel like I am always chasing fun or joy, I get tastes of it, but never really get to revel in it because I always have this black cloud of overwhelming, undefined have-tos hanging over my head.

When I define my purpose and order my life, I no longer feel like I have to chase peace and joy because it is a more natural extension of having accomplished something. At the end of the day, I can look and see that I have accomplished my tasks, I am working toward a goal and can relax knowing that the work is done. What a better way to live.

What does this have to do with you? GREAT QUESTION! It is easy to get caught up in the minituae of everyday life. We all know that life throws us a million reasons to stay active, we have to discern which of those reasons to be active will actively move us closer to our goals. So what is your goal? Is it putting out fires, or is it preventing fires? What is the intention that you are going to live with today? Being better? Define better. Saving money? Making money? Serving customers? Our options are limitless. We just have to pick one and live it!

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to shoot me your feedback, thoughts or comments at djtryba@gmail.com.