Why Are You Here?
Every day we are getting older. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just a fact of life.
While we’re here on this earth, we have ongoing opportunities to live fully and impact the lives of others around us in big and small ways.
What is the meaning of your life? What is your life purpose? Why are you here?
These questions can seem overwhelming and daunting to many people, but I’d like to challenge you to reconsider them.
What if the answer to the questions were as simple as:
living kindly
connecting with others
accepting people as they are, even when that challenges us,
living in the present moment, when it’s good and when it’s scary or hard
taking action, but remaining positive and optimistic while doing so, rather than living in fear or anger
being grateful for all the beauty and good that exists in your life every day
It’s really easy to get caught up in negative conversations or to start complaining or worrying about things that aren’t going the way we’d like, but is that really helpful in any way? Does anything good actually happen as a result of complaints or worry?
When we complain, most of us are complaining to the wrong person, meaning we’re talking negatively about someone rather than addressing the problem with the person we have the issue with.
When we worry, we’re projecting possible negative outcomes onto a future that hasn’t happened yet, rather than taking concrete steps in the present moment to avoid a negative outcome or (if that’s not possible) doing our best to accept whatever it is that we can’t change.
Life is short. How do you really want to live it?
I feel really lucky that I get to do a job that helps other people get stronger and healthier every day and the people I work with are amazing, kind, generous, and thoughtful.
I’m grateful that I have a supportive, loving and compassionate wife who is also my best friend.
I love knowing that despite all of the differences my family members have, we will always be there for each other if any one of us really needed something.
My life wasn’t always like this. I’ve had numerous jobs I really disliked and was constantly stressed at. I spent many years in an unhappy marriage. I’ve lived in constant negativity and avoidance, and honestly believed that I couldn’t do anything about it and it all felt really BAD.
Every single day we have the power to live our lives in ways that feel good or bad. We can live in love (taking positive actions, connecting with and being kind to others) or we can live in fear (complaining and blaming).
It took a long time to change my habits and start living the life I dreamed of, which eventually became filled with more love than I imagined was possible.
Our minds are really powerful tools that can help us to change our circumstances if we’re not happy with them.
We do need to know what we want in order to move towards getting it, and once we have it, it feels really important to appreciate it.
Maybe the meaning of life is as simple as living in love in the present moment, connecting with others and practicing kindness.
Do we need more than that?
Action Steps:
If you died tomorrow, consider what the people around you would say about the way you lived your life
If you’re happy with the answer to this question, keep doing what you’re doing!
If you’re not happy with the answer, take some time to imagine how you could start living differently.
Think about why you’re here and what unique value you offer. We are all miraculously special in our own way. Embrace your amazingness and share it with the world!
