Find what serves your greater purpose
How many of you, regardless of age, get caught up in life’s circumstances? A relationship, lack of sleep, work duties, stress (in all its capacities), confrontation, striving for perfection? If I had more than two hands they would all be raised - I am so guilty of getting caught up in minor things that I waste my breath and energy on them. Once it passes I look back and think how silly they really were.
If you’re also like me you tell yourself to slow down but then those other noises of working hard, perfection, and your goals for success creep back in and you ramp up everything an extra notch. Unfortunately, it usually takes the loss of a loved one, a tragic incident, or a big life change to make you stop and realize that we do really need to slow down and appreciate all we have. Young people are especially guilty of thinking the worst of every situation when in reality all we might need are a few deep breaths, a phone call with a friend or loved one, a good night’s sleep and a fresh perspective in the morning. I guess the adults in my life really are older and wiser when they tell me this ;)
Social media and instant gratification make us latch on to wanting more and getting caught up in ridiculousness because we can never really disconnect from it all. You can search up anyone online these days and be reminded of them. We can feel the pressure to keep up and worry about other things, events, and people all because of the simple post of a picture or status shared.
Last week I had the privilege of hearing Jully Black perform and speak at a conference I attended and a few of her words really hit home with me. In my best paraphrasing she said, we are given a limited amount of breaths on this earth and that we must not allow people, things, and events who don’t serve our greater purpose to take those precious breaths away from us. Something so simple yet so powerful.
I can’t say I have mastered this at all. I have made huge improvements in certain aspects of my life but I allow other things to waste my time and energy when they really don’t need to be. My focus moving forward this week and beyond is to better evaluate situations as they arise and ask myself if the thing, person, or event I am bothered by really feeds my greater purpose. If it does, then I can spend time and energy on it. However, most cases these things serve as reminders that not all who we think is worth our time really is.
Building community one grapevine at a time - Dance Cardio June 2018
What are my steps to changing my perspective?
- take three deep breaths before reacting
- remind myself of the positive things in my life so as not to dwell on something minor that isn’t working
- reach out to the people who matter most to me
- work my hardest but also rest and enjoy more
- scroll less through social media to avoid getting caught up with what other people are doing
- continue to build and foster the important relationships of the people who are part of my community - relationships go both ways!
What are you going to implement into your week to focus on life’s most important things and people?
Yours in self-discovery,
Rachel