Pursuing Purpose

I recently had the honor of being a Thesis Review Judge for Classical Conversations West Broward’s Senior Class. The paper below was a MUST SHARE written by a stellar 18-year-old young lady Veronica Byrd.

Her choice of topic, excellent way it was written, and orally presented was quite impressive, very inspiring, and worthy of note-taking! My favorite quote that I will use in future leadership training...

"You Can't see a victory if you don't show up for the fight."

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Pursuing purpose that the Lord has established for our lives is far more important than having stability in this world as measured by being successful by our society. “Unless you assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.” (Bertrand Russell, atheist). The search for the purpose of life has puzzled people for thousands of years. We typically begin by asking self-centered questions such as: What do I want to be? What should I do with my life? What are my goals and what is in it for me? Focusing on ourselves will never reveal our purpose in life. God created the earth and everything in it including you, so if you want to know why you were placed here you must start with God. The Bible says, “It is God who directs the lives of his creatures; everyone’s life is in his power.”

There are two words commonly used when discussing one’s future: purpose and success. Purpose is THE REASON for which something is done or created or for which something exists. The Hebrew definition states that it means to advise, consult, give counsel, devise, or plan. Success is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Some define failure as a lack of success, while the Latin word, fallere, means to cheat, deceive, or disappoint. “Success has become one of the most perverted words in our society’s vocabulary because it is most often equated with money, social standing, mansions, and prosperous business empires” (O.S Hawkins). Fancy foreign cars, Rolex watches, and yacht club memberships are considered symbols of success. If you do not achieve these things, you are seen as a disappointment since you have failed to reach something considered to be of earthly worth.

“Do what you love,” is a well-known phrase that is heard quite often these days. Interestingly, it is also commonly said that if what you love does not help you to advance, choose something else that will deliver that same benefit. Statistics show that approximately 22% of Americans say they have their dream job, compared to 2%-8% of people around the world fulfill their true desired goals. People seem to become content with the life they are living, causing them to never chase their purpose. Contentment is the state of happiness and satisfaction which seems to be a good thing, but it has also become a blind spot.

There are 5 major reasons that prevent people from pursuing their dreams: fear of the unknown, lack of self-confidence, unwillingness to take a risk, laziness and procrastination, and not wanting to change. Fear is the world’s worst enemy but it is also a gift, a precious instinct. Too many have lost sight of reality because they have a fearful spirit. The definition of fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat. Why would something you want seem dangerous or cause you pain? As humans, we know where there is a threat so we do our best to avoid those feelings or places. Constantly living in fear will cause you to never seize your creativity and accomplish your goals. Instead, follow the fear. Lean into it. Allow it to empower you. When you choose this path and stay on it, you learn that you will have to overcome different circumstances and events. People are afraid to be themselves, to have an unusual personality, or to share their dreams with others. The vulnerability can seem scary, but it can also open doors to what God has in store for you.

Another reason that people are hesitant is that they do not believe they are good enough. For instance, if someone wishes to be a professional baker looking at the success of others in that field can be intimidating. Although there are many people that are probably more fortunate, more profitable, or have more experience, these are not necessarily valid reasons to hinder a person from giving it their best shot. This is their path and their journey, so they should be willing to follow their dream. Confidence comes in to conquer this fear, but only if they take hold of their potential and apply it to their everyday routine. On the other hand, some do not have enough self-esteem because it feels uncomfortable so instead, they sabotage themselves by allowing doubt to overtake them. “If you haven't confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With confidence, you have won even before you have started” (Marcus Garvey).

There are numerous reasons why some are unwilling to take risks in life. When people talk about traveling to the past they worry about radically changing the past by doing something small but barely anyone in the present really thinks that they can radically change the future by doing something small. If the little things in life will shape the reality of our future, why don’t we try our best to make the most out of everything we have. Creativity requires risk, so something has to be at stake for it to matter to you. If you know the outcome before it ever happens, how will you learn a lesson or grow from it? Mistakes are essential to learning and they will even hurt sometimes. If you are truly pushing yourself and tackling significant challenges, then you will have made mistakes along the way, which is a normal part of the process. You will soon realize that it will be much more destructive to not take any risks by letting your life just pass you by. People respect a wrong move made with confidence, far more than a correct one made without conviction.

Laziness can affect your mindset and your ability to tackle the important things you want to accomplish. Prioritizing goals takes much effort and motivation. Synonyms for laziness are indolence and sloth. Indolence derives from the Latin indolentia, ‘without pain’ or ‘without taking trouble’. The term sloth has more moral and spiritual overtones than laziness or indolence. In the Christian tradition, being a sloth is one of the seven deadly sins because it undermines society and God’s plan as it invites sin into our lives. Our nomadic ancestors did not think long term for most situations due to the shorter life expectancies of their time. Desire led to action, and action led to immediate gratification, without much need for proposing, planning, preparing, and so forth. Poverty and failure have become linked with laziness which now symbolizes the value of that person. For a confident or overconfident person, success comes easily to them because they are more likely to master laziness. Unfortunately, some people are willing to receive a prophetic word but are not willing to do the hard work that follows.

           Laziness can also be seen in people who are poor planners over various areas of their lives. Things such as overeating, drinking, or anything of that nature stems from not thinking about the long term consequence. The ancient philosopher Epicurus cautioned that not everything that is pleasurable should be pursued, and not everything that is painful should be avoided. Jobs that serve the purpose of only paying bills have become expected, and individuals are not able to sufficiently grasp the concept that they have a purpose in making others’ lives better. Thinking that their situation is hopeless, creates a situation where people will not work through their challenge, let alone address it. Taking the initiative to complete a certain task or schedule future events stresses some to the point where the pain takes over their life. Having the ability to choose plays a significant part in this matter which measures how the person procrastinates. This also shows that they are not sure what they wish to do with their lives for there is the existence of free-will.

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