For What Purpose?

So we wake up, we start our day, we get ready, we do the things we have to, we get through the day, we fight some battles, win one, lose a few more. Then we end the day and depending on how it went feel good, or bad. Elation or anxiety. However, we may want to consider hitting the pause button in this whole routine and ask ourselves, for what purpose am I doing this? This question can be very revealing. If you have a hard time answering this question, or do not even know the answer AND you are feeling stress or anxiety then there is something seriously wrong with your mental state. Time to fix it.

Let me detail a for instance. Today, I was battling through an important issue. I was on the losing side of the argument for a while. Not going well at all. I was starting to feel anxiety about it and then I stopped and asked myself for a few seconds – for what purpose am I engaged in this argument. I realized I was fighting the battle for a good reason. I was defending some people really important to me. I took stock of that, consider that my anxiety was appropriate. When the argument resumed, I explained to others why I was arguing so vehemently for my position. The funny thing? Everyone took a different tone at that moment. They decided to help me get to what I wanted. No longer fighting me, but actually helping me. Interesting. When the cause was clearly stated and the cause was noble and pure, everyone got on board. Suddenly the petty differences fell to the higher cause.

So this has caused me to wonder where else I am spending way to much energy or worry fretting over things of no consequence. Do I really know the purpose that I am engaged in a particular activity? Am I remembering the reason that I am pursuing it in the first place? My work for example. I get caught up a lot in what I am pursuing, but at the end of the day, what I am trying to accomplish is a comfortable living for my family. When looked at through that lens, a lot of problems become less important. When I think about who I engage, what I engage, understanding the higher purpose is helpful to ground me in having a rational approach to my level of engagement.

A long term perspective, or even a eternal one for that matter, is also great context for comparison. How many little issues was I fighting on this exact day 1 year ago, that I cannot even remember? All of them.

Guy Reams