What Does Purpose Mean to You?

I have been doing a lot of thinking about purpose lately in the sense of how things fit into my life, not the bigger question 'what is the purpose of life?' That is a question that I am not yet ready to wrap my head around, nor do I really want to. I am here on this earth and as far as I know I only have 1 life to live so I don't want to spend too much time thinking about it rather than living it!

When I think of purpose I think of what has purpose and meaning for me...and what can I do to change things in my life to give them more purpose...

A lot of my thinking lately has been about what it is that I want to do with my life, with my career. I am not going to be naive and think that career does not matter because I am not privileged in a sense that I do not need to work to have income to sustain myself in this world. However, at the same time my home and family is more important to me than my career. I often think of how I want my Grandchildren to remember me. Do I want them to remember me for the type of job that I had or do I want them to remember me for the life experiences that I lived and the stories that I shared with them from those experiences? I'm sticking with the latter. I have however let myself get into a work position where I'm not satisfied with what I do on a daily basis. Considering that the min amount of time we spend at a full time job is 40 hours per week I feel that it's important to be happy and satisfied with what it is that you do to earn an income! That is where I start thinking about purpose...How can I give my career a greater sense of purpose for me?

I don't remember ever thinking about this when I was in school. If I think back it's almost as though someone handed you a list of your options and you simply picked one based on what you thought you knew about the job. I must admit that I didn't really take the time to think things through and I have allowed myself to become frustrated with where I have ended up but that no ones fault but my own. I have since woken up and I am taking the time to really think about what it is that I want to do with my career ~ my 40+ hours per week that I spend earning a living for myself. I have asked myself:

-what is important to me?
-what do I enjoy doing ~ not in terms of a specific job but tasks
-what am I interested in trying?

I wrote down a list of absolutely anything and everything that I could think of from being a Chef to operating my own Florist Shop, in the end I have come back to something related to my schooling, a course of study which I enjoyed very much, one that I only stopped pursuing because at the time I was 'tired of going to school'! lol, what I wouldn't give to go back to those days where I went to school that was fully paid for by my Parents and learned all that I wanted to learn! Amazing how what is important to you and of interest to you changes over the years!

Nevertheless, I am on a journey of creating a new path for myself because this is my life and I need to make it meaningful for me! It really doesn't matter what others want me to do or not do ~ this life is one for me to lead the way I want!

Follow your heart and your dreams and never wake up with any regrets! This is your one life to live ~ your opportunity to shine! Best the absolute best you can be and don't settle for less!