We’ve been talking about living with purpose for quite some time. By now you’ve thought quite a bit about what you may want to change or tweak in your own life to live more intentionally and with more purpose. Ideally you will have started to incorporate some of those ideas and are starting to live more purposefully.
Old habits are hard to break and it’s not uncommon to slip back into familiar behavioral patterns that no longer align with your wish to live more intentionally. In addition there will be things and people tempting you to stray off you path as well. You may have the best of intentions to live healthier or example and take better care of your body, but when you walk into the break room at work there’s a big box of doughnuts tempting you. Or maybe you are trying hard to be more patient and understanding with your young children on a day when they are determined to push all your buttons and test the limits of that new patience. It happens. Life is messy and there will always be things that go wrong and people who intentionally or unintentionally try to lead us down the wrong path.
The best way to deal with temptations is to expect them. They are going to show up sooner or later. If they surprise you, you will be more likely to give in. If you know they are coming, you can guard yourself better against them. Learn from each temptation and realize that each one you avoid makes you stronger and more determined to stay your course.
Even with the best intention and our guard up against temptation we can end up heading down the wrong path. Life happens and sometimes things are out of our control. At other times, we may not notice that we’ve chosen a wrong turn until we’re well up that wrong path. It’s ok. It happens. It’s simply time to change course and get back on track. This is why it is importantly to frequently review what we’re doing. This allows us to see what’s happening and if what we’re doing is still aligned with our intentions, our purposes, and our values. Make sure you take this time for reflection and adjust as needed as you go along on this exciting journey of living a purpose driven life.