Most workers can easily define what they do on a daily basis. Much harder is to determine why they are doing it, beyond the obvious facet of earning money. The difference between working and leading is really the difference between tasks and direction. Do you have a goal or purpose for your life, and are the tasks you are involved in helping you move in that direction? Consider a few steps to help you determine a course for your life versus just the next set of tasks:
Determine your values. Ultimately where you go in life is defined by what you hold dear. Clear values heighten the degree to which you can narrow your life purpose. Valuing “earning x amount per year”, for instance, is broadly reachable, while values like “A career that helps others become healthy” or “Work that improves my community” or “A successfully balance between work and home life” may lead you in an entirely different direction. Values can also be married to character. “Honesty, integrity, persistence, trustworthiness”, for instance, can all be values. Most workers go through life without properly defining values which drive them. Their direction, therefore, is often determined more by circumstances than by innate beliefs.
Seek your purpose. Values help define why you do what do you do. Purpose, on the other hand, helps to define what you are ultimately suited to do. Your unique set of talents and abilities, the skills you have learned over time, and your experience, all point to your purpose. A person whose vocation matches well with their purpose will lead a life that is more fulfilling than one which is mismatched. If you have a math talent, and are great with numbers, and enjoy seeing equations and formulas in balance, then you may truly enjoy accounting, for instance, where another vocation like cooking or truck driving might be torturous.
For both values and purpose, some help may be useful in determining these, as you look at past, present and future, goals, giftedness and other factors to uncover those elements which are most true to yourself. You might take various self-assessments, or seek the help of a trusted mentor or counselor, or go through a course designed to help you identify these important life characteristics.
Look up. Your faith is a powerful tool to help you understand life direction. The Bible talks often about God directing your life path. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” While Psalm 32:8 reminds us that God “will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.” God promises that when we seek Him, He will give us a direction to go in—and because God knows us best, we can be assured that direction is in line with our talents and temperament.
Narrow your “yes”. As you focus on your values and purpose, you should also reduce the number of things you say “yes” to. Those areas which are not essential to fulfilling your present and future goals should be declined. Don’t allow tangents to rule your life. Many times we say “yes” even though we know something is not important to not risk offending a friend or coworker. When you know your values and purpose, though, your response can be more measured and understanding when you say, “That’s a great project, but I am focusing my time on these other two things and don’t want to lessen the impact I can have in these areas.”
Stop waiting. Finally, life direction is at its essence about getting started. Even if you don’t have every answer you want, and every “i” dotted in your plan, go ahead and begin. Trust that God will reveal to you the last 30% if you get started on the first 70% that you know now. So many men spend a significant portion of their adult lives waiting for their purpose in life to come down on a silver platter from the clouds and hover in front of them at a convenient time between football games. The reality is that life direction must have momentum, and that begins with taking a first step. Resolve that today is the day to stop waiting and start doing as you follow your direction for life.