All About Women | Women

Nothing in life can take the place of knowing your purpose. If you don't try to discover your purpose, you're likely to spend your life doing the wrong things.

I believe that God created every person for a purpose. As psychologist, Viktor Frankl said, "Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. Everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus everyone's task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it." Each of us has a purpose for which we were created. Our responsibility - and our joy - is to identify it.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you identify your purpose:

For what am I searching? All of us have a strong desire set in our hearts, something that speaks to our deepest thoughts and feelings, something that sets our souls on fire.

Why was I created? Think about the unique mix of abilities you have, the resources available to you, your own personal history, and the opportunities around you.

Do I believe in my potential? No one can consistently act in a manner inconsistent with the way he sees himself.

When do I start? The answer to that question is "NOW."

From Your Road Map for Success by Dr. John C. Maxwell.

Be You On Purpose,
Coach Carolyn

One of the things that came up at our May Becoming a Woman of Purpose meetup was the thief of perfectionism. Why do I call it a thief? Well, simply because it steals from you. It steals your joy, your passion, your creativity, your inner child, and the list can go on. All these elements lead to living life on purpose.

Defining the term perfectionism, I quote our trusty Wikipedia: The persistence of will in obtaining the optimal present and future quality of spiritual, mental, physical, and material being.

Whew! What a mouthful! Okay, that means I am obsessed with producing the best outcome in all I do. And sometimes even the best is not good enough! Perfectionism is about being in control and not trusting in the process or the Divine.

My response to perfectionism is to take the action and let go of the result. This is not going to happen overnight -- just as cultivating the habit of perfectionism did not happen overnight. It takes time and re-conditioning. But you are a woman of purpose, so you are worth the time and effort. You devote your time and energy to other things, why not devote some of that to yourself, especially if you want back your joy, your peace, your passion, and your creativity.

Don't try to break an existing habit; but replace it with a new healthy habit. Remember, it's about which wolf you are willing to keep feeding. When you stop feeding a habit, like anything, it will die. So stop feeding the habit of perfectionism and watch it starve to death!

Until next time, here's to healthy wolves,
Coach Carolyn

The May Becoming a Woman of Purpose meetup was wonderful and very insightful for the women. During our sharing one of the women stated that her real life is so far from her dreams. How true that is for most of us. Unfortunately, we are not living the life we dream of or, at least even remotely. Most of us tend to live a life that someone else has scripted and laid out for us -- we are following the family script, the economic script, the cultural script, the gender script, and the list goes on.

So at our May meetup, we started looking at what some of those dreams were using our positive characteristics and the actions we take to live that out. Some surprises, some confirmations, and some plans for immediate action steps.

The Becoming a Woman of Purpose meetup is also about accountability and support. It is so easy to get caught up and even lost in the daily grind that we forget why we have been summoned to this planet. We each have a unique assignment here that no one else can complete. Life is about living out that unique assignment. When this is done fully, with joy, then we know a life of inner peace, passion, and purpose.

Until next time, live passionately!
Coach Carolyn

“The search for the purpose of life is one of the deepest of our experiences as human beings…. Deep in our hearts, we all want to find and fulfill a purpose bigger than ourselves. For each of us the real purpose is personal and passionate: to know what we are to do and why.” -- Os Guinness

Do you know what you put on this earth to do? Do you thrive in your daily life, or merely survive? If you are like most women, you probably believe you are here to fulfill one or several roles – daughter, wife, mother, aunt, sister. Or, to seek your fulfillment in a job or career – lawyer, doctor, therapist, teacher.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the roles mentioned. If they are how you are to live out your life purpose, then that is wonderful. But if they are simply a means to an end, just to pay the bills, with no real joy or passion, then something is very wrong. Living your life purpose should make you want to sing all day. Answer these brief questions about how you contribute to this global society:

* Is there a need – does it serve a greater purpose?
* Do I have the necessary skills, gifts and talents?
* Does it bring me joy?

Did you answer yes without any hesitation? If you did, congratulations on living out your divine purpose. If you answered no, then girlfriend, we need to talk!

Until next time, live with passion!

Coach Carolyn