"The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder- a waif, a nothing, a no man"
-Thomas Carlyle
Purpose, to different people, has different meanings. I'd like to define Purpose as a driving force towards an expected end. According to Thomas Carlyle, any man who has no purpose, nothing driving him, is just as good as a no man. Let it not surprise you that many don't know what drives them or don't have anything driving them. To some who have things driving them, those things are not driving them to an expected end, but an unexpected death. Now let me ask you this. What drives you: Guilt? Resentment or anger? Fear? Materialism? Need for approval? If you have any of these driving you, I fear you are at the brink of an unexpected end.
Guilt brings back the memory of your ugly past and make them haunt and taunt you. Have you done some ugly things in the past and you can't just stop thinking about them? Or is there anything that happened in the past and you have yourself to blame for its occurrence? You need to learn to let go of the these things and forgive yourself.
Anger can be bad. Fine, someone may have wronged you and it got deep into you. Funny enough, the person has probably felt some remorse, cleared himself of the guilt and moved on, but there you are still furious at nothing.
Listen: Those who have hurt you in the past cannot continue to hurt you unless you hold on to the pain through resentment [Rick Warren]. You hurt yourself more when you harbour anger and hatred inside of you. Just let it go. You are better than your anger.
Fear No one is sure of what happens tomorrow, some just don't let that bother them. They work for what they want for their future, hoping that is what it brings them. If every man lives in the fear of the unknown, the world would've never been this fine. Live above fear, work towards what you want for your tomorrow and be rest assured that you get what you work for.
Materialism Many are so driven with the desire to acquire material things. They have this misconception that by acquiring more, they derive more happiness. Little do they know that when the value of that material depreciates to nothing, they get bored and want more materials. They forget what they need and go for what they want. What values you add to your life make you important, not what materials you acquire to yourself. Learn to add value to yourself, shun material things.
Need for approval Rick Warren said, I don't know all the keys to success, but one key to failure is trying to please everyone. A larger percentage of those who live a purposeful life in our present age didn't have to wait for anyone's approval before they pursued their purpose. If they did, their morale could've went down the drain. Being controlled by the opinions of others is a guaranteed way to miss your purpose. Learn to pursue your purpose without anyone's approval.
Nothing matters more than knowing God's purposes for your life, and nothing can compensate for not knowing them
Remember, living on purpose is the path to peace
Omotoye David Oluwasegun, AAT
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