Show Up and Live with Purpose
Hey guys! Today’s post is going deep…I was a counselor after all and this idea of “show up and live with purpose” has been coming at me from a couple different places so I thought I would share/process/be open about it with all of you.
Last night I was listening to the Jillian Michael’s podcast and she made an interesting point that Danni (this year’s Biggest Loser) showed up every workout. She showed up physically, but also showed up mentally—giving her all in her workouts and emotionally—by being willing to do the tough inner work that contributed to her weight gain. Jillian attributed her success and anyone’s success whether in job, marriage, friendship, weight, or other project to showing up every time.
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Which also made me think of a conversation I recently had with a coworker. We were talking about one of the taglines our camp uses “vacation with a purpose” and about how to convey that in different words maybe “vacation on purpose” or “family time on purpose”. We talked about purpose and vision for life—doing family on purpose, marriage on purpose, extra activities on purpose. I walked away from that conversation with an increased desire to be intentional and purposeful not to exalt myself or show how awesome I am, but because I see that intentionality and purpose in the life of Christ and I believe by being intentional and purposeful I can bring Him glory.
Seriously, do good things happen by accident? Does a marathon happen on accident? Does financial freedom happen on accident? Does a good marriage—not just a long-lasting marriage happen on accident? Does real, deep, peace and satisfaction happen on accident? Does anything worth having happen on accident?
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This made me think along two veins. First, where have I been “phoning it in”? Where can I step up and really show up physically, mentally, and emotionally in my life? Where can I be more purposeful and intentional? It sounds kind of dumb, but one area I’m trying to be more purposeful about is my housekeeping. I had kind of fallen into a clean when it’s dirty philosophy which had fallen into a clean when it’s so dirty I can’t stand it. I printed myself a housekeeping schedule that breaks cleaning into daily tasks—I love how structured and purposeful it is!
Second, although I want to be purposeful and intentional that doesn’t mean I have to go completely hardcore, balls to the wall, all my eggs in one basket. Sometimes just being present is enough. Being purposeful doesn’t mean being perfect. That may mean for a workout that instead of a tough weight session I do a moderate yoga session (this happened on Monday). For my relationships that may mean that I focus on communicating and doing the little things, not the grand gestures.
So I guess this is a challenge to you and a challenge to myself to show up and live with purpose. It’s easy to fall into complacency, but life is too incredibly short to live distracted or half-hearted.
Love this post Kate, it was great. I definitely should make more of an effort to show up and live with purpose. It’s a good goal for me to challenge myself at!
Thank you! Yes, it something we could all do a little better at; it’s hard to be purposeful!
Great great post Kate! I think it’s important to show up for your life and live it. I don’t always act like it, but I love reading things like this that remind me why it’s so important. 🙂
Thank you! It’s a great reminder for me as well.
This post really resonates with me as I am also trying to learn to live with more purpose and being more mindful. I really like how you mentioned that living in the moment, with purpose, doesn’t have to mean doing grand gestures or crazy intense workouts, but rathe it’s listening and communicating and just really being there and present.
Thank you! It means so much that I’m not the only one working through this process of showing up and being intentional.
Love this post! Living in the present and with purpose is something I strive to do! It can be hard sometimes, though! Maybe I’ll make “just show up” a new motto of mine…
I agree. I think this post is my ruminating on the why of show up and purposeful living but I need to think a bit more on the “how”…what it looks like everyday. I guess that would be different for every person though too.
Great points, it can be hard to keep our eyes on the target, and our heart. Sometimes it’s easier to just go through the motions of things but remembering why you’re doing them and what purpose your actions are for can make a huge difference!
Yes absolutely! You hit the nail on the head. I don’t want to look back on my life as one of quiet desperation with the song still inside.
Okay I love this post! Living life with intention and purpose and focusing on the things that matter to YOU is so huge but so easily overlooked. We can’t just go through the motions. We have to live life. Fully and with intention. Great, great post!
Thanks Tina!!