A client recently asked me what the first step is to organizing your entire life. That’s a loaded question! I could hear the overwhelm in her voice and the discouragement in her heart over the phone. She confided that her whole life feels like a wreck right now, from job to calendar commitments to piles of clutter at home. She wanted to know where to begin… how to start taming the chaos! I just wanted to reach through the phone and give her a big hug. This is what I love so much about my job. People reach out to me when they are desperate and hurting. It’s my calling to bring them peace and encouragement through organization.
So, what IS the key to organizing your entire life?
Purpose.
pur·pose [pur-puh s] noun
1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc.
2. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal.
You need to know why you are here on this earth. What is your purpose in life? What is your mission? What do you want to accomplish?
The reason purpose is so important is that everything on your calendar, every item in your home and everything in your life revolves around it. Once you have established your purpose, you can start filtering decisions through it. Suddenly, decisions about what to say no to just got easier. Letting go of clutter in your home just got easier. Knowing what job opportunities to pursue just got easier. There are many, many good things in life… but you need to concentrate on what is BEST. Every one of us has only 24 hours in each day. Maximizing that time {NOT overcrowding it} is essential.
One method to discovering your purpose is to start at the end. What do you want people to say about you when you die? If you had to write your own obituary, what would it say? You only get one life. How are you going to use your one and only life?
In discovering my purpose in life, I found several resources to be helpful. First of all, I went to the source – my Creator. Ask God what His plan is for your life. I believe every person on earth was created for a reason and has a purpose. Jeremiah 29:11-13 (in the Bible) says: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Another resource that I have utilized is a book called “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren. You can find more information about it at: www.purposedriven.com. Here’s a short description of what the book is about:
“The most basic question everyone faces in life is Why am I here? What is my purpose? Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life. Real meaning and significance comes from understanding and fulfilling God’s purposes for putting us on earth.”
If you are struggling with your purpose in life, it helps to get a good handle on who you are and what you are good at. This builds confidence, but also helps point you in the right direction. Take a personality test. {A commonly used one is the Myers Briggs test.} Take a career assessment to help you determine which type of career suits you. Take a spiritual gifts test. Google the type of test you’d like to take, but add the word “free” onto your search & you will find a wide variety of tests that can help you. There are also a lot of books available about career assessments, personality tests and spiritual gifts. I strongly encourage you to take a couple of different tests of each type to see if the results are consistent from one test to another before you base major life decisions on the results.
Once you have a feel for what type of personality you have, what spiritual gifts you have and what careers best suit those… you can start to organize your life around it. Sit down & write out a personal (or business) mission statement. As you start to organize your life according to purpose, you will begin to see the stuff that bogs you down & gets in your way. Those things are clutter – get rid of them! Anything that doesn’t belong on your calendar, in your home or in your life is clutter.
Do you want to live your one and only life with purpose or simply survive day to day, reacting to things around you – bogged down by emotional, physical and mental clutter? Experience freedom and live life on purpose.
If what I talked about in this article strikes a chord with you, but you still need additional help or someone to talk to, please give us a call at 812-858-2457!
Books about Career Assessments
Books about Personality Tests
Books about Spiritual Gifts