Day 13 - Two Little Words - On Purpose

Are you doing things with a specific purpose?

When was the last time someone stepped on your foot and kept walking as if nothing happened?  
 
Most of the time, such an episode is likely to pass without further incident.  
 
However, if your day is already on the verge of becoming the next daytime reality series, that one little misstep is likely to be viewed as a foot stomp.  
 
In the final analysis, such an incident means absolutely nothing.  
 
In fact, I propose that, even if the person stepped on your foot "on purpose," the best that you can do is say, "No worries."  
 
And then let bygones be bygones.
 
True story:  I was at an intersection in Saginaw, Michigan, when I decided to pull into a gas station and call my cellphone service provider to inquire about the horrific reception I was receiving in that area of the state.  As I sat in my rental vehicle, trying to decipher the garbled questions from the customer-service representative, I watched a young man get out of his car, smash his lit cigarette into the top of a trash can, and toss the still-lit half-smoked cigarette into the trash can.
 
I know what you’re thinking… “With the cost of cigarettes these days, who smokes just half of a cigarette?”
 
But seriously, I watched the trash can intently, focused on the dark recesses of the opening. 
 
And, then... there it was: the first small signs of a smoldering fire.  
 
At this point, I knew I had to either tell someone or put out the fire myself.  
 
Actually… there was a third option – I could have just left the gas station.  

But I didn’t leave.  

And I didn’t try to put out the fire.  

However, I did, in fact, get out of my vehicle and tell the store clerk… and I also mentioned the large rack of propane tanks that sat in a cage flush up against the trash can.  The clerk immediately filled a bucket with water and doused the little flame that could have been so much more.
 
Ahhh… imagine the “what if’s.”
 
What if I had not stopped at that seemingly random gas station?
 
What if I had indeed stopped, but spent the entire time totally engrossed in my conversation with a customer-service representative that was located in another far-off state?  What if the trash can did fully ignite and cause the propane tanks to explode like little bombs, one after the other? 
 
What if… 
 
Actually, we can’t go on living thinking about “What if?”
 
How do I know this?
 
I know it the same way you and everybody else knows it:
 
We have all seen someone transition from life at some point in our lives.
 
And we also know that we, too, will someday delve into another realm of reality.
 
Yet, in an interesting Catch-22-recipe of fate, faith, and denial, we speed toward our eventual death as if life goes on forever.  It does.  But that’s not my point.
 
My point is this:
 
When someone steps on your foot, it’s usually an accident. But if they did, indeed, do something to you on purpose (whatever it is), their actions should still have absolutely nothing to do with YOUR purpose.
 
Today I want you to believe, think, and KNOW that your life… the mind, body, and soul that is you… is definitely not an accident.
 
So, let’s not live our lives as if we’re waiting for an accident to happen.

After all, accidents will happen.  
 
Mistakes will be made.  
 
Tears will be shed.  

​And you know what?  Life will go on!  And you should, too.  And you should go on in a way that ensures your life is shimmering with the fulfillment of your purpose… not in a manner that gives a higher response to people doing “bad things” to you on purpose.  

Regardless of what their purpose is... focus on your purpose.  Regardless of their imperfections, focus on your path to an Ideal Life.
 
I am not perfect – and neither are we (you, he, she, and me).  To me, imperfection is wonderfully liberating!  Knowing that we are not perfect gives me knowledge and hope that I am not a hopeless heap of hopelessness.  Yet, all too often, we second-guess our respective God-given talents and abilities simply because we are afraid to make mistakes.  
 
Have you ever wondered why it’s called “second guessing?”
 
It’s called “second-guessing” because we actually initially KNOW what we should do. 
 
But instead of going with what we know, we second-guess ourselves (our S.E.L.F.), which is rather ironic in the fact that the ONE thing we should know, better than anything, is ourselves.
 
Perhaps we should start first-knowing… and then “second-knowing” instead of second-guessing.
 
Remember: Your dreams are accomplished by first setting up your goals.  

Your goals drive your plans.  And your plans tell you what you should do every single day of your life.  
 
Or, perhaps some of you see it this way:  
 
Plans are steps to achieving our goals, which help us achieve our dreams.  
 
Both of those statements say the same thing… and, if we really want to achieve our goals, we simply have to write them down.  As we write them down, our dreams are transformed out of our head and into the physical world...and into a written plan.
 
So tell me… with all this extra time we have on our hands during this pandemic, have you authored your dreams, your goals, and your plans?  If you have, indeed, written them down… you are in a much better position to avoid accidents, predict the future, and live your life ON PURPOSE...
 
...your purpose!

To help author your dreams, goals, and plans...

​Accept what is.
 
Adapt to a changing landscape.
 
Achieve the best possible outcome.
​
Aloha,