Doing Things on Purpose With Purpose

We all have the same 24 hours each day — and for most of us, it’s never enough. There’s a never-ending list of things that you must accomplish on any given day, and then another list of things that need to get done at some point. Some days, you may even add more to your list than you check off. It’s a battle we’re all familiar with: time.

And that’s why everything we do should be done on purpose, with purpose. What does that mean?

Think on purpose. Train on purpose. Eat on purpose. Play on purpose. Recover on purpose. Live on purpose. Talk on purpose. Encourage others on purpose. Sleep on purpose. Grow on purpose. Love on purpose.

Every moment in your life should be purposeful — whether it’s helping you become a better person or getting you an inch closer to the person you want to be. Instead of just going through the motions on tasks, do them purposefully. 

How to Live Life on Purpose One of the biggest mistakes people make is they say they want something but don’t act accordingly. And maybe it’s because they don’t know how to act accordingly. (For instance, they want to lose weight but don’t know where to start.) If they had a plan in place, they would know how to attack their goal.

Instead of going about your day and letting your day dictate who you are and where you’re going, make sure you have a list of things you want to accomplish that day. Then do everything on purpose with purpose each day to make those things happen. What does that look like?

When you’re at the gym working out, you’re not thinking about what you’re going to cook for dinner afterward. You’re focused on the task at hand. But when you’re done with your workout and you’re at the grocery store, then it’s time to focus on what you’re going to cook for dinner and not about the annoying thing that happened at work that morning. It’s all about being present.

Tips for Being Purposeful Journaling is a great tool for staying on task with your purpose. Use it to write out your day in advance or your weekly or monthly goal so that way you have a pathway to follow to achieve your goal. You also can use it as a reflection tool to see how you did each day and what you’d like to change or improve on for tomorrow.

Use this technique to be more present with the people in your life, too. Whether you’re bathing your kids, having dinner with your husband or walking the dog, be present. If you’re bathing your kids, you’re not talking on the phone. If you’re spending time with your husband, you’re not working on the computer. If you’re walking the dog, you’re not scrolling through social media. The more you practice being present in everything you do, the more you’ll create a habit and your relationships will benefit from the increased focus.

You also can use this tool to build better habits around tasks you don’t even want to do — like making your bed or washing the dishes — which will, in turn, prep you for bigger tasks. For instance, I like to remind myself to be humble enough to do the small things right. It’s important to make my bed in the morning and clean my dishes each night. If I do all the small things that I don’t even want to do right, then when it’s time to do the bigger things, they become a no-brainer.

Finally, don’t start with things that are too big — like vowing that all your meals will be homemade or that you’ll work out seven days a week. That’s just not realistic, and you’ll end up crashing and burning because you can’t live up to those expectations. Instead, build your momentum with small victories: Add a few more veggies to each meal, work out three times a week, etc. Don’t worry about what will happen down the road or how you’ll achieve a 100-pound weight loss. When you focus on doing things right here, right now versus what may happen later, it’s a lot easier to focus on (and succeed in) your smaller goals. Over time, they will add up.

So do what you do on purpose with purpose. Things don’t come together well “by chance.” Are there parts of your life you could do more “on purpose?”

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