Your alarm clock blares, striking the stillness like a hammer upon thin glass. On and on it drones, pulsing painful vibrations into your ears while screaming a stark reminder that you have another day of drudgery ahead. Ugh.
Shoving numb hands into the dark, you fumble for the snooze button. When found, finally, a moment of peace…a brief respite in which to snuggle back into your pillow and drift away…before being jerked back to reality again. Sound familiar?
If you’ve experienced this the morning of a work day and it wasn’t due to staying up too late the night before or tarrying long at the wine, then something may be amiss in your life. I’ve certainly been there, honestly, more often than I’d care to admit.
What a Difference
But lately I’ve been rising with a spring in my step, excited about the tasks ahead of me each morning. And it’s gotten me to thinking about the reasons why. In fact, I’ve taken some time lately to look back over the course of my life in this regard. I guess you could say I’ve conducted an impromptu inventory.
I wondered why, at times, this lack of enthusiasm was so and, at others, not so much. I recall one particular job where I had to rise long before the dawn and drive over an hour to the treatment facility where I worked long hours. Then I had to turn around and make the same drive home long after it had become dark once again. But I was excited to do so.
I also held a different position, at another agency, where the drive was quicker and the hours shorter but it was a burden to pull myself from the bed to grind away at it each morning. It’d be easy to blame the differences in these experiences on my roles or my employers, but I don’t think that’s really the cause.
Fearless and Searching
You try it. Look back over your life and notice the times you were eager and joyful to face the day and its responsibilities. Notice also the times you did this begrudgingly, warring against apathy or dread. Can you identify the reason for the difference?
For me, I noticed that in one scenario I had a sense of fulfillment, and in the other I did not. Perhaps it’s the same with you. But emotions are fickle and poor indicators of what is really causing them. Why, in one instance, do we experience fulfillment and, in another, we don’t? The circumstances seem irrelevant because too often we soar in ecstasy despite painful or difficult situations yet languish when the sailing is smooth. It must be something deeper.
I recall another time in my life when I was in a state of dogged trudging, merely going through the motions of my career and even home life. It was at this time that I saw another person on fire while executing their craft. They had passion and drive, charisma and zeal. Their atmosphere was contagious and it was apparent they loved what they did and it infiltrated every area of their lives. It inspired me to break free of the emotional weights that held me down so I could soar once more.
What Changed?
One of the benefits of age and experience, particularly in a career or business, is the observation of perceptions shifting over time. You’ve probably seen this too. Remember that work colleague that used to be a go-getter but now just punches the clock and rides out the hours, doing the bare minimum that is required, and poorly at that? Recall the marriage that was ablaze with love and energy that now barely generates a spark, resembling a broken down car sputtering as its engine struggles to turn? What changed?
For me, I think the difference is purpose. Going back to that job I loved and the fulfillment I felt while doing it…this occurred because of my approach toward the situation, because of my perception of it. I sensed that I was part of something bigger than myself. I knew I was a member of a team and that the team had a mission that was making a real difference. It was more than mere work, more than a paycheck, financial sustenance, or health benefits. It was a vision.
Make it Plain
In Habakkuk 2:2, God says to His man, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon the tablets, so he may run that reads it.” It was a calling that was imparted, a mission, a destination, a goal, a purpose. And the natural response of anyone who encounters something this electrifying is not to walk, but to run toward its fulfillment. Oh wait, maybe that’s why we call that emotion fulfillment? Maybe it occurs when we are fulfilling our purpose.
If this is so, then happiness, joy, energy, passion, and leaping from the bed each morning to attack obstacles and achieve goals is not so out of reach. I love coffee as much as the next man, but you don’t need chemicals (of any kind) to get you up and going. You need a purpose.
When we are striving toward what we were built to do, when we are marshalling all the collective skills, experience, and resources we have garnered over the years toward accomplishing a singular objective then everything comes into focus and who and what we are becomes penetrating like a laser. And we feel…well…happy doing it.
Power
Whether you are leading an office meeting, a company, a child, or a family, you must have this kind of focus. This kind of energy. This kind of purpose. Write the vision and make it plain so those around you can catch it and run. Otherwise, we all drift, carried about by every whim and circumstance of life with our emotions as impotent as our undisciplined intent.
This is the power of purpose. Remember what you were made for and put your hand to that plow. Dig deep and find your passion. Sacrifice everything that weighs down your drive. Avoid the snooze button and the bottle. I know, often we seem inadequate to rise to the monumental tasks to which we are called and so we settle for less and are miserable doing it. But purpose is the key, my friend. When our insufficiency meets God’s grace amazing things happen.
Until next time, don’t just be transformed: be Kinged.
Want to see more articles like this or join our mission of global transformation? Visit https://DKKinged.com to learn more! You can also share this article with your friends and colleagues by using the SM logos below.
Was this a helpful springboard for your life or business? Or do you have questions about applying the principles discussed? Then contact us at [email protected] and don’t forget to follow us on social media to comment, like, and subscribe!
