Living on Purpose: My Three Intentions for this Season

We live in a busy culture full of endless distractions. It can be difficult to live on purpose.

As I step into a new season, a new city, and a new industry, I’ve been centering on three intentions: Contagious Enthusiasm, Humility to Grow, Deep Rest.

Contagious Enthusiasm - God gave me zeal. I love life. I wake up excited about the people, challenges, and experiences before me. I know that not everyone feels the eagerness, energy, and joy that I do, but still I feel called to spread my enthusiasm. This does not mean being artificially happy. Rather, it means cultivating and inviting others into a gratitude mindset, even amongst the very real challenges we face. At work, I think of this intention as “Be Ted Lasso.” If you’ve seen the show, Ted faces plenty of intense challenges, but each day, he still shows up for his team with selfless encouragement and contagious enthusiasm.

Humility to Grow - To live with humility to grow, I remember a quote from Nelson Mandela: “I never lose. I either win or learn.” Each time I produce imperfect work or fail to live up to the high callings of marriage or friendship—each time I fail—I have the opportunity to grow. Actually growing depends on whether or not I lean into the humility that it takes to admit weakness, ask for help, and head back into the arena grateful for another chance to either win or learn.

Deep Rest - Hard work is good. And so is deep rest. That's deep rest, not “play hard.” Deep rest, not time for personal accomplishments. Deep rest, not scrolling and streaming. “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." Sabbath—the Judeo-Christian practice of taking one day each week to rest—was set up not as a burdensome religious rule but rather as a gift for humanity.?I am young and ambitious, and I work in an industry known for intensity and long hours. Rest is so important to me. In this season, I am dedicated to setting aside time for rest—time to quiet myself, to notice the world around me, to laugh and to play, and then to return rejuvenated, re-centered, and ready to live on purpose.