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Perhaps one of the biggest questions about life that any of us has to answer is the question: “what am I here for?”

This post must involve a bit of a discussion about religion. I hope that isn’t going to put you off because I feel that this is one of the most important questions to answer.

The first point to make is that this is an even harder question to answer if you are an atheist (or even agnostic). I’m not saying this to force my viewpoint on anyone but that you need to admit that if you don’t believe in a creating god (whoever that may be) then it is impossible to answer any questions about what you are here for. The best you can answer this question might be to do the greatest good to the greatest number of people. But you might just as well say that your aim is to make yourself happy. Essentially you will have no set purpose and you simply make up your own idea of what you are here for, but if you are looking for an answer to the question then one doesn’t exist.

Of course if you do have a belief in a god then your purpose will be bound up in what your religion says about your purpose. There will most certainly be an answer to the question. I’m a Christian and so my response for me must come from the message of Jesus Christ. I’m here to worship and serve God.

There is more to it than this because I also have a part to play in God’s plan (you did know that God has a plan didn’t you?) – a part that is unique to me. So I can look at how God made me, what gifts and talents I possess and then work out how God wants me to use them.

The exciting bit is that no matter how insignificant I might feel I know that God wants me. No matter if I feel that I really don’t matter in the eyes of this world – I know that I matter in the eyes of God. I also know that even if things don’t quite work out for me now – this is not the end of everything.

I happen to believe that Jesus gives us the best chance of finding out the answer to the question of “what am I here for?” and if you want to explore this subject in more depth you can take a look at the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren (official website here) but there are other religions and other options.

Buddhism for instance teaches that this world is full of suffering and life means detaching oneself from this world so you can get away from the suffering. You can find out more here.

Many other religions follow a set of rules to gain entry in heaven so the meaning of life is following those rules (Christianity is not one of these by the way – despite popular belief). You can see a list of the religions and what they see life as at the religion facts site. Although I must warn you that the Christian section is woefully inadequate and the chart, as far as Christianity is concerned, leaves an awful lot of information out. I’d recommend the Purpose Driven Life web site for this information. Or you can find out more about Jesus here.

What is life about? Is there some purpose to life or am I just drifting through the universe with no real part to play other than what pleases me? I believe that there is purpose in the universe and that we have a part to play in that purpose, if we want it.

To understand this I think we must look at the spiritual side of life. Those of you who read this blog regularly may feel this goes against the down to earth, practical approach that I promote. Well – I think spirituality is part of life and needs careful thought. Often faith is a very practical thing – bear with me because I think when you are trying to work out a purpose this stuff is very important.

It seems to be the done thing, at the moment, to invent your own version of the spirituality of the universe. We are encouraged to focus our attention on ourselves and how we feel most comfortable thinking about the spiritual. We must aim for those things that make us feel the best about the way things are in our life and then surround ourselves with a personal spirituality. There is a part of me that really likes this idea but I see one major flaw in it. If there is a God then God must actually be like something. What if God had actually chosen to reveal himself to people – not in little bits and pieces that we can pick up on and discover like a kind of mirror broken into millions of pieces but as he actually is.

The major faiths all believe that this is exactly what he has done. What I fear is that most people decide about spirituality based on what they know of their followers. Although I can understand this in my search for truth I find this too restricting. I also find that the bad followers of a religion tend to get far more attention than the good followers.

Without going in to the details I can say that for me the teachings of Jesus Christ seem to be what makes the most sense. Like everyone I am sometimes alarmed by the lack of Christian love in some churches but I also see through history the way that great Christian love has changed things for the better. Where it is followed fully the Christian faith makes a very positive difference to peoples lives.

Jesus Christ was very keen on talking about “the kingdom”. Essentially a place where God got his way. Jesus described this place as being wonderful and he was also keen to point out that we can be part of that kingdom now.

I don’t know if you think Jesus was God’s son or just bonkers but I personally think he understood the purpose of life and the universe better than anyone else ever has.

If you want to understand your purpose then you need to begin with an appreciation of the greater purpose of which we are a part. This greater purpose is, I believe, what Jesus described as the “kingdom of God”.

In God’s kingdom we have a part to play – a part that God has planned in. I also believe that the role we play is up to us. We don’t have to do what God want’s us too but life is going to be an awful lot better if we do.

If you want to understand your purpose you need to ask God to help you find it.

Holidays are great for all kinds of reasons: get to spend time with those you love; get to do things you wouldn’t normally do; get to be lazy for a change. However I think one of the beiggest benefits is that they give you time to think.

We nearly all find it hard to find time to think. If you are always on the go you probably find that the end of the day (the traditional time for doing your thinking) is just the time when you don’t have any energy for thinking. I like to put my feet up like anyone else and I know that the T.V. can take over when things have been tough in the day.

So holidays give you a real chance to stop and do some thinking and this thinking time can be really important.

Here are some things you might like to think about:

• What makes me happy?
• Where do I want to be in five years from now?
• What is my purpose in life?
• How do I want to help others?

Of course you probably have your own things to think about as well.

This thinking phase is very important and I think should be done before you write any goals.

What do you do if you don’t have a holiday coming up – find some time to do some thinking anyway. What about taking a day off and going somewhere quiet (in the past I’ve found churches or monasteries to be excellent places for this)? What about taking a few hours over the weekend to do some thinking? But I’d recommend getting this into your diary to make sure it happens.

In a recent study undertaken by Jennifer Crocker and Yu Niiya from the University of Michigan and Dominik Mischkowski from the University of Konstanz it has been shown that thinking about what you value can help you in life.

It has long been believed that reflecting on your values raises your self esteem and so makes you less defensive when you have to address your problems. However this study has shown that reflecting on values makes you more focussed on others which makes them more loving and connected to others.

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Quote

“Seek the lofty by reading, hearing and seeing great work at some moment every day. ”
Thornton Wilder (Thorton Wilder was a successful American playwrite and author.)

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Call me old fashioned but there is something about a hero that I like. I think we need more heroes and less villains who amuse us. Heroes are the people who make this world a better place to be in. Yes they have flaws and they make mistakes but we need heroes to make the world better.

Who is your hero? I guess we could get a very long list of very worthy people if you answered. But I want you to make sure there is at least one name on your list. That name should be your own.

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Quote

I demand more of myself than anyone else could ever expect.
Julius Irving

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Quote

“If you do not hope, you will not find what is beyond your hopes.”
St. Clement of Alexandra

Sometimes it is very hard to keep believing in what you are doing.

Some days are just plain tough and then those days turn to weeks and weeks can turn to months – perhaps even years. You keep slogging away and seem to be getting nowhere. During these times it would be very easy just to give in and live like everyone else.

Are you going the wrong way?

When you start to feel this way then you need to stop and think. Think about what you are trying to do. You need to be wise because just occasionally you might start down a path that is going to a deadend. If you can see a deadend looming then make sure you plan a new route. It could be all you need is a simple change of direction to keep going.

Why did you start this?

Now is the time to think about why you started on this journey or took up this project. What were you trying to achieve? Is it still worth trying to achieve it? Remember as much as you can the feelings of what made you start in the first place.

Sometimes the going just gets tough

There is a part of Dartmoor (an area I like to walk in) that is filled with bog and tough walking, I hate it. Whenever you get to this part of the moor you just know that the going will be tough. There will be a period of slog. The only thing is that to get to some parts of the moor you just have to go through this part – it can’t be avoided.

Life is similar in that sometimes to gain success you just have to go through the slog.

Mot people give up at this point

This is the place that most people give in. This is why only a few people ever succeed. The ones who succeed are those who are willing to go through the slog.

Don’t give up just because things are tough – you should only ever give up because something better is somewhere else.

Keeping hopeful is critical to success

Many others have been where you are now. Many famous and successful people have feaced exactl the same problems that you are facing now. The reason you now know their names (Eddison, Ford, Lincoln, Churchill etc) is because they did not give up.

Come on. Pick yourslef up. Remember why you are doing this. Have hope and press on towards your goal.

Overview

Take some time to discover your purpose. Here I outline a method for working out it all. I see your purpose as the starting point of your future. You need to know where you are starting from before you can choose the path to your destination.

Why bother with a purpose statement?

Most of us meander through life hoping that somehow we will get lucky and things will work out. It’s a basic belief that the gambling industry – one of the biggest industries in the world – exploits for its own gain. Perhaps this will be the week that your lottery numbers will come up and life will improve for you. However there are a few who have grasped the simple truth that life is not about getting lucky breaks from nowhere but is about making your own lucky breaks.

Of course life is harder for some than for others but just because life is tough doesn’t mean that you can’t be successful – it might just take a little extra effort!

The place to start is with understanding yourself and what you are about. How can you ever make a decision, or know how to spend your valuable time if you don’t know what your priorities are and what talents you can use to achieve your goals?

A purpose statement is about taking some time to reflect on who you are. You examine your various qualities, what talents you might have and what things you value. At the end of the process you should have a clear idea of what you stand for. Although its possible to arrive at a similar statement to others what it means to you will be unique.

Then you should remind yourself regularly what you purpose statement is. It will help you prioritise your time and encourage you to employ your talents wisely.

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One of the hardest things to do is to change. We can become so used to our habits and ways of doing things that making a change can seem to be almost impossible.

I think there are several things that stand in the way of someone changing and here a just a couple of them:

1) Fear. We are afraid that if we change then we will have to give up some of the security that we have spent so much of our life developing. Security is a good thing but so often it limits what things we are willing to do. What is strange though is that often people want to change so they will have more security but the act of changing can make you feel insecure. Don’t ever let fear drive you. Take a stand against fear and discover how much you can change if you are willing to take the risk.

2) Not seeing the point. If you are going to change you need to get the point of changing. Too often our reason for changing is because everyone else thinks its a good idea. If you want to lost weight or perhaps give up smoking you need to get the point of why you are giving up. If you don’t get the point then no amount of effort will make the change. If you think something is a good idea but you are not sure what the point is then try writing down an arguement for why you should make the change. If your arguement is not convincing then try again. Keep up the arguement until you know why you are going to make the change.

3) Not desiring enough. Just seeing the point of changing won’t do you also need a strong desire to change. This can come through many different ways but without the motivation to change you won’t get started and getting started is one of the hardest parts. One way to address this problem is to build up in your mind a good picture of what things will be like if you manage to change. Bring some emotion into the picture and memorise it – when you feel like giving up let the picture into your mind again.

These are just a few of the reasons but they are big ones. If you want to make a change make sure you have got these sorted out.