Wow! Pastor Hurmon Hamilton’s last Message Series, “Life on a Mission,” was great! Purpose has always been one of my favorite topics. It’s something to center our lives around and if you are on LinkedIn and reading this, “purpose” is likely the reason you’re in the field you’re in and why you care so much about the work you do.
For me, purpose translates as having a dream, a desire to be successful, to feel like you did something. Within our current world, it can be very easy to stress over our mission or get caught up in chasing the wrong things and missing out on our purpose.
In my personal struggle, I have definitely gone back and forth in trying to figure out my purpose, or what felt like many purposes. There were be a lot of things I felt like I needed to be, needed to be involved in, and if I wasn't the best or perfect at it, I wasn’t living out that purpose. But that was totally wrong for me and is — for anyone who might feel that way. We all serve a very specific purpose and it isn't always glamorous, obvious, or even the right time to be living it out.
I’m so glad that Pastor Hurmon touched on some of the points I’ve struggled with in the past. Here is what I will leave you with as some of the bigger application points:
- Stop comparing. Don’t compare yourself to anyone. I had a mentor that used to say “the only person you should be comparing yourself to is the person you were yesterday.” Everyone is on their own journey. We all struggle in areas where others may excel, and vice versa. PH brought this point home by emphasizing that you don’t see the story behind the social media post. You don’t know everyone’s story behind their success, it's never pretty or easy, and sometimes you find out it's not even worth it. They compromise on things you never would, and sometimes it’s totally fake! It’s photoshopped, it’s exaggerated, or it's something that could really only happen for them or one time.
- Be patient with your purpose. It takes time. No matter who you are or how talented you are at something, experts and studies have shown that, for some skill sets or crafts, it takes up to 10,000 hours to master! So give yourself time. Play the long game. Don’t get caught up in milestones and precisely hitting your goals immediately. Most people never hit their goal the first time around. Just keep going. To add on to it now, be patient but also persistent with your purpose.
- Understand your season. Players get injured. Doctors go through residency. Bears hibernate. We all have times when our purpose is more prevalent or starts to dawn on us. Don’t get discouraged if you feel like you are going through life or work without a clear purpose yet. There is a time and place for everything. There are plenty of people who don’t do anything great or above average until they are in their 40s or 50s. The worst thing you can do is rush it or start pursuing something you don’t feel passionate about, then end up wasting all that time or energy because you were desperate to do something “meaningful” in other people’s eyes. Enjoy and grow through the season you are in.
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