Value, Versatile, Vocal, Victory, Volitional
I watched a charming movie a couple of years ago titled “A Dog’s Purpose.” The star was a dog named Bailey and his purpose was to bring joy and happiness. I enjoyed it thoroughly, shed a few tears and then began to reflect on my purpose. Why am I here? What does my life stand for? What is my reason for being? It is amazing that such compelling questions come from a sweet movie about a lovable dog!
I recently read about an exercise you might find helpful in framing your purpose and in focusing your efforts toward achieving that purpose. List 10 things, in any order, that are important to you. Then, put those things in order of importance. You might find this very challenging. Some people take hours, even days, to get their final list. The next step is to write a sentence beside each of these values. In it, briefly explain what you do each day that proves it is important to you. While the first step may be challenging, the second step may be the most enlightening. For example, many people list “God” and “family” as their top two priorities, yet they struggle when asked how they prove it through their daily activities. We often find inconsistencies between our list of values and the things that occupy most of our time. If you value good health and then smoke, eat poorly, and never exercise, that would be an inconsistency.
Take a bit of time to work through the exercise and see what you discover. Taking the time to identify, clarify and reorder one’s values might be very rejuvenating! Life is richer with meaning and purpose. So, what is the meaning of your life? And what are you doing each day to prove it?
Missed the beginning of our journey through the alphabet? Check out the rest of Getting Back to Basics.
Members, are you following along? If you want to create your own words to enrich your positive self-talk, download Real People … An Alphabet Adventure from the Chapter Contests and Activities in the Members Area of our website.
By Mary Rismeyer March 16, 2019
Thank you. I am going to mention this article at our next meeting and give the 10 important things a try.
By Florene Shaw March 4, 2019
this is such a good read! I am challenged and ready to share this with our club! It will be a good discussion!! Thank you so much!!!
By Carri Scott March 5, 2019
Use these as our program and discussion. What a blessing to all the Staff at TOPS. We truly appreciate all you do, everyday, and our TOPS News. God Bless