How Important Is Purpose In Your Life?

August 11, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

So here we are some 16 months since the world became engulfed in a massive global change. Life is indeed different and will likely be on a new path from now on. That said, we all are doing our best to adjust and carry on with the business of living life.

Along the way, we have likely had some serious self-reflection about what matters most to us. We have probably thought about how we should spend our days and moments to live our most Awesome Life.

In other words, more than ever before, we were asked by life to answer the question:

“What is the purpose of your life?”

What is the answer for you?

I bet that today is a great time to visit or revisit this question because the benefits to your life are too significant to ignore.

About six years ago, we published our book Awesome Life, on Amazon. The subtitle is Create The Life You Always Wanted And Soar With Purpose. A good life comes from having a purpose, just like the hero in every story or movie has a mission. As self-evident as this concept may be, we can all use a reminder, especially in times like these.

Don’t forget, you are the hero in the story of your life!

Having a purpose in life might just be the missing piece of the puzzle. But, as said by Dr. Alan Zimmerman, author of Pivot, "the purpose of life is a life of purpose."

My takeaway from this message is that life is like being on a sailboat where the wind causes the boat to move in a specific direction. However, the rudder is a crucial component of the sailboat. Like having a purpose, it allows you to take the circumstances of life (the wind) and manipulate the direction you want to go (purpose in life).

Your purpose in life is your rudder on the sailboat of life!

With purpose, you will have two outstanding benefits that will set you on the course of an Awesome Life:

1. A life with direction

2. A life with meaning

And you know what else? Having a purpose in life will cover 97% of all the other things you try to do well daily! It will cover achieving your goals, attaining happiness, cultivating a winner's mindset, fostering excellent relationships, spiritual connection to your Creator, helping your fellow man, and even make you a better person!

That's a lot of knock-on effect, wouldn't you say?

So here is a plan to help you answer or reinvent the purpose of your life:

Action Steps:

1. Make yourself a cup of tea and sit down with your journal and give yourself a good one hour of quiet time to think and brainstorm some ideas.

2. Then, at the top of your page, write down "My Purpose In Life."

3. Now make two columns, one that says "Things I can do for myself" and the other "Things I can do for others."

4. Start writing things as they come to your mind under each column, and don't judge them. Let the ideas flow.

5. Look at what starts to pop out at you as exciting, not just enjoyable, from the completed lists.

6. Circle the ones that you really like and do the next step: Write down your Awesome Life Purpose: ALP

7. Here is a template for your consideration:

My life’s purpose consists of (your list of things you might do for others)

I also make my life’s purpose (your list of things you will do for yourself)

When I live my life with purpose, I feel (write down the emotions you will achieve and state of mind you will be in by living your life with purpose).

Here is an example:

“My life's purpose consists of being helpful to my family and friends. I also make it my life's purpose to improve my skills in my work life and personal life. When I live my life with purpose, I feel happy and motivated.”

Perhaps now more than ever, we can all benefit from thinking about the purpose of our life.

The benefits of having direction and meaning in life are genuinely too big to ignore.

If you are feeling rudderless, go make that cup of tea. If you know someone who might need to read this article, please share it with them.

Be Awesome, and may all your life be filled with purpose!

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What Will Your Sacrifice Be?

July 21, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Shazad

Life is a series of trade-offs and decisions also known as SACRIFICES. In youth, we sacrifice our time for knowledge, experience, and then money. In our middle years of life, we trade some of that saved income to get time back until we reach our Senior years when all of the focus is about gaining more time in the day by sacrificing our wealth and possessions. It’s a delicate balancing act and no two lives are the same. The well-educated and the poor farmer in a small village somewhere all make sacrifices all day long.

It’s necessary to make these decisions and to do so with intention, wisdom, and the future in mind. We can have all the things we need in life as long as we are willing to make the required sacrifice to obtain them. There is no lasting pleasure in getting things we did not have to struggle for and there is no great accomplishment that isn’t preceded by a series of hurdles and forks in the road. Every choice we make cuts off another path. Sometimes it’s permanent and there’s no going back. Other times it is simply not practical to backtrack to the point we made a choice and do things a different way. Think of a boiled egg that cannot be made raw again. In contrast, a decision about which subject to major in University is something that is more flexible in terms of the decisions you make.

Think of your life as intentional decisions made in your own best interest and the interests of everyone you care about. Live with the knowledge that you are making sacrifices that are part of your greater purpose and make them boldly with no regrets. In the end, your sacrifices will be worth it.

Make Things Happen Before They Happen: One Easy Idea!

July 14, 2021 Shazad Ahmad

By Ahsan

One of my childhood activities was going to Cub Scouts. It was a very positive experience, and we earned badges that my mother would sew onto my Cub’s shirt. I still have that shirt, by the way. The badges represented a skill that you learned, and believe me, they all came in handy as you grow up. I owe a lot to that early training. Here is a link to see the type of things we learned: https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/cubscouts/pdf/Wolf_Addendum.pdf

Not surprisingly, The Boy Scouts have a motto: Be Prepared. Likewise, the US Coast Guard has a similar slogan: Always Ready.

You may appreciate many things you know because they help you live your life better and can even save your life!

Have you ever heard of someone falling unexpectedly out of a boat and drowning? This is a colossal tragedy. However, sometimes, it is determined that the person did not know how to swim and could have survived if they knew how.

So, there are specific skills that need to be learned before they are required.

Swimming is one such skill among many.

Can you think of certain skills you are glad you have?

Now that you think of it, are there any skills that you should acquire?

Maybe you need to learn how to get up and speak in front of people. Or perhaps you need to know how to drive a car. What about taking up a bit of First Aid training or cybersecurity skills to protect you from scams and identity theft? Perhaps most importantly, how to think on purpose so you enjoy the moments of your life.

May I challenge you to think of at least three skills you need to acquire over the next 3 months and present you with a dose of motivation with a concept of the 3 Ps of Skilling?

3 P’s of Skilling:

Proactive approach to identifying your gaps in skills.

Prepare in advance, so you survive and thrive.

Performance when it counts.

So here is the game plan for your 3 Skills Challenge

Proactive: Start thinking. Consider some excellent results you need in your life and identify the skill you need to learn to attain it. A golfer might need to learn how to chip onto the green closer to the pin.
Prepare: Feel the excitement of doing the skill. Then, get started on training for the skill. Take the course or get the lessons or get a coach or whatever you need to do.
Performance: See yourself doing the skill in your mind's eye. When you need to chip onto the green and leave yourself with an easy one-foot putt to win, you will do it because you proactively prepared and got the performance when it counts most!

Most people have the skills to live a life that will be just fine.

You, however, are now more aware of how learning new skills before you need them will lead to a more Awesome Life!