So at the end of the school year during finals for my writing class each of us had to write a piece showing the most valuable lesson we had learned that year and then share it with the class. One of my friends wrote his on purpose. It was a very different take on the word purpose then I had thought of before. But I loved it. His paper sparked in me a new sense of purpose. These thoughts have been running around in my head for a while and it's time for them to come out now.
So purpose. What is it? Before I always thought of your purpose being basically like your mission. That thing you are supposed to do in your life. My friend put in a different perspective. He said that your purpose isn't your mission. You have your mission and then your purpose. Your mission is the thing or things you are supposed to do in life and your purpose is the why to the mission.
The mission, and the reason for doing the mission.
That is purpose. I've always known that I have a great mission to fulfill here while I'm on earth. But I had never thought that there was a good reason for it, it just was. Since my friend shared this different perspective with me I've thought a lot about my why to my mission. Yeah, I know that I'm going to be all these great things. I want to be them and more importantly God want's me to be them. But is that a why? Is that really a good reason for doing what I do?
I'm still trying to figure my purpose out. I know the two biggest chunks of my mission. I'm supposed to be a Mother and a Writer, among several other small things that go along with those. Being a Wife/Mother and a Writer, basically narrows down what my mission in life is. But why is that my mission?
Well, I feel like these two things are the things I will be able to have the greatest effect with. By teaching my children correct principles I'll be able to have a rippling effect of freedom and prosperity for generations to come. Now you tell me if that isn't a big purpose. And writing, when people read the things I write I want them to feel better about themselves. I want them to feel like they can take on the whole world. I want them to understand truth and apply it. And if I can do that for one person then I can change the world. Because one person is a world. Changing one person through my writings is a good purpose.
I believe we are all great! We all have a great mission to fulfill while we are here on this earth. We all have a reason why we have that mission too. I don't think God want's us to just blindly follow and do what we know we were born to do. He want's us to think through and analyze the reason. And maybe if you don't find the right reason, maybe you don't have the right mission. There is a reason for everything, even if we don't see it until after the fact. You have something great to do. I know it! Your purpose in it and be small or great. When you know the reason why you do what you do, you feel better and more secure about it. I promise. So...
What is your purpose?
That is way cool!!! I love your friends view on purpose. I do have something that I'd like to have your opinion on, though. You said "And maybe if you don't find the right reason, maybe you don't have the right mission." What do you think of maybe having the right mission, but not the right purpose? Do you think it's possible? And if so, do you think that you truly accomplish your mission if you aren't doing it for the right reasons? Hitler made much of Germany a beautiful place. But he also spread havoc over the rest of the world. He still made Germany a beautiful place, though, there is no denying that. Now this is an extreme example, but what I'm wondering is if it is possible to accomplish your mission, and not do it for the right purpose. The effect would then be that everyone else would benefit marvelously... and you would be left in the dust, with only the wrong purpose in your hands. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteMary, I believe you are right. You can have the right mission but not the right purpose. But I don't think you can truly accomplish your mission if you don't know what your purpose in it is. But you can still accomplish most of it. Mission and purpose go hand in hand. To really fully and truly accomplish your mission, you have to have the right mission AND the right purpose for fulfilling and living that mission. Your mission is what you are supposed to do and your purpose is the why. I don't think your mission is just one big thing you will do. Your mission is a lifestyle. You do it for the right reason your WHOLE life.
DeleteI hope that answered your question.
<3 Love and miss you muchly!
Hey, I came across your site from your post on Path2awesome. I just wanted to let you know that you're such an amazing writer and are really, truly inspiring. I loved this post in particular. I know my mission, and that's changing the world through kindness as well as inspiring others to change the world in their own way. I would love it if you would email me (invisible_princess@aol.com) because I've been in contact recently with a few other teens from around the world and it seems when we bounce ideas off each other and simply express ourselves we learn a lot more about our missions in life and take those steps to accomplish our goals. I guess I feel like we could learn a lot from each other. But even if you don't contact me, keep up the great work! Oh, and here's my site: http://how-to-save-the-world-by-eva-marie.blogspot.com/p/about.html
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