By: Dr. Agbenyo
🩺 Grandma’s punchline
Oh no, not another manic new year’s resolutions! Why must I bother to put down aspirations for the new year when I cannot honestly account for the previous ones? This is the summary of a long inner dialogue I had sometime back which led me into putting my life on the flow and started operating on the mantra:
Que Sera Sera (whatever will be will be!)
Then I paid a visit to my grandma one day and an innocent comment she made on resolutions set me thinking. …Kofi, why do people bother to make resolutions when they don’t clearly know their life’s assignment? The mismatch between purpose and what people aspire to is the reason behind many unfulfilled resolutions
🙏 In search of Purpose-driven Resolutions
Are we busily making resolutions for the coming year(s)?
Who are we? What on earth are we here for? Do we have specific assignments to perform on this earth? Is it important to find our purpose? What will happen if we just live on the go or just copy others?
👍In today’s fast-paced global arena many forces constantly try convincingly to pull us towards their preferred directions. Finding the purpose of our life becomes very critical if we don’t want to be tossed about needlessly.
👍 Isn’t it possible that the lack of clarity on our purpose is making us react to situations instead of being proactive and deliberately taking actions which bring fulfillment? What is the essence of making resolutions which do not align with our purpose? Without a clear purpose for our lives, won’t we easily reduce our existence to coveting status, material goods and power which may eventually leave us feeling empty and lost in our tracks?
👍Our life’s purpose consists of the central motivating aims of our life (which is the driving force each waking moment presents). Purpose guides life’s decisions, influences behaviour, shapes goals, offers a sense of direction, and creates enduring meaning for our existence, thus making it possible to affect our generation with our unique brand.
👍 Isn’t it sad that many of us belittle our true purpose because of external affirmation seeking? Are we making resolutions to depart from a life of true meaning in search of the mundane just because we do not have an attitude of gratitude and a sense of true worth? Are we following the trends/ crowd blindly and forgetting that our purpose may be different?
👍This must be sharply contrasted with the state of many of us who are unfulfilled because we are functioning out of purpose, but the need for stability and predictability (comfort zone) continue to bond us to some routines.
👍Comfort zones may give us a sense of mental energy conservation and keep us from feeling anxious and getting hurt emotionally and physically.
👍But do we realise that staying in the wrong comfort zone may prevent our growth (progress)? Oh yes, this may keep us in unfulfilling jobs, limiting locations, toxic relationships, wrong courses/programmes, etc.
👍Do we feel led to walk a particular path but our belief system is busily telling us that nothing good can come out of us? Are we busily copying from others at the expense of our originality? Once again, what step is that still small voice imploring us to take? Are we setting goals which give us short-term thrills but do not properly align with our destiny?
👍 Finding our purpose may require a daring move against the tide and refocusing. But are we willing to pay that price? Are we properly identifying and aligning with our destiny helpers? What are we willing to do without expecting anything back and still have deep seated satisfaction? Isn’t it possible that may be our true purpose?
👍Did I have a role in my creation and location? Why was I created the way I am? Is there no purpose for my physique and place of origin?
👍Why must we reduce our existence to material gains? Do we want to gain wealth and fame seen by the society as success but live unfilled because we have left our original unique assignment?
👍What is the ultimate purpose for the resolutions we are making? Are we doing them because we see others doing same? Do we feel like life is happening to us instead of happening for us? Are our accomplishments enslaving us instead of releasing us into joyous service to mankind?
👍Then we must pause and refocus. There is nothing as painful as everyone perceiving us as making it big when we ourselves are constantly living on the edge! By the way is it possible to know our true purpose without a relationship with the Originator?
👍 Knowing our purpose may not happen overnight. It is a lifelong journey. Being flexible allows us to grow in integrity while being true to ourselves. We need to review our past resolutions objectively. Learn from our gains and losses through the processes and not merely the end results. When we nurture our core values and stop seeking external validation, we will discover that the question of “ What is my life’s purpose?” is pretty easier to answer and making the right resolutions will follow!
🕯️ Serenity 💡
How can we expect to be fulfilled when we never devote time to finding something to live for? Interestingly, most of us see our true purpose unfolding through seemingly insignificant things but our quest to fit in to the societal grand scheme of what represents success makes us keep asking for how to discover our true purpose!
🙏Wishing all a purposeful new year. Amen
