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Purpose moves us from autopilot to mindfulness.




Purpose moves us from autopilot to mindfulness.

Based on Frankl's research and more like it, I think it's safe to say that people with a clear sense of purpose are people who tend to live longer, more meaningful lives. I imagine it's in part due to the habits they've chosen to get them where they want to be. People who move through life with purpose are much less likely to be on autopilot as they go. Instead, they're mindfully making decisions which will help them get from point A to point B with intentionality—with purpose.


From a young age, Brooke was incredibly close to her father. They had the same interests, the same personality, the same perspective on life, and the same heart to live a life of purpose. Because of that, Brooke's dad put the challenge in front of her to define her personal purpose often and early on in life. Over their weekly Saturday breakfasts at Waffle House, he'd encourage her toward naming a sense of purpose and living in a way that reflected it.


But Brooke was a teenage girl. And if you know anything about teenage girls, it's that most of them care very little about what their parents want them to do. It's usually in one ear and out the other. She was moving through that time in her life on autopilot, like many of us do, but her dad was asking her to move with mindfulness. While Brooke respected her dad and valued his wisdom, she pushed off the work of purpose. After all, she had plenty of time to figure it out, right?


As a senior in high school standing on the verge of launching her college career at the University of Georgia, everything in Brooke's life changed overnight. Her beloved father passed away unexpectedly, leaving her and her mom to pick up the pieces to rebuild a life they never imagined living without him. In those early days, Brooke wrote in her journal, "I wish I understood the purpose of this. I wish I understood my purpose in this. I thought I had more time with him to figure it out, and now, I'm left without him and without purpose."


Would a strong sense of purpose have changed the way Brooke felt about losing her dad? Absolutely not! Tragedy is tragedy, loss is loss, pain is pain. Purpose doesn't change the gravity of grief. But would it have helped Brooke navigate that loss with a foundation to stand on? Would it have helped her be more mindful of the moment she was in? I think so.


That's the strength of purpose! It gives us a firm foundation when life sends storms and powerful tides our way. It gives us a direction to keep moving in when we're unsure what step to take next. It gives us something to hold on to when everything else fades away.




 
 
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