In this article, you’ll find what it means to live on purpose and strategies for how to live with purpose, so that you can experience a more meaningful life.
My Unintentional Life
When I first became a mother, I struggled with not being intentional with my time. I was blessed to stay at home with my two daughters, but I also felt overwhelmed as a mother. I felt like I was losing myself in the chaos of life and living life on autopilot. Even though I was grateful I could be a stay-at-home mom, I felt like I wanted more. I felt guilty because being a mother was so rewarding, but I didn’t want to lose who I was in the process. I asked myself how could I be a good mom, but still pursue my interests?
I started to examine my life and how I lived it. I wanted to change my life so I could be happier. I wanted to live for something other than motherhood.
Living with purpose and authenticity was important to me. And I did my best to find things that excited me and made me feel that I was more than a mother and wife. I continued to educate myself, though I didn’t know exactly what the end result would be.
Fast forward several years….I’m now approaching my empty nester years. I know it’s time for me to use the things I’ve learned. While I will miss my kids when they leave the house, I’m also excited about what else I can do to bring value into the world.
Are you a midlife mom approaching this next chapter of your life? Are you feeling stuck and wondering what you will do when your kids leave the house? If that’s the case, then this is the blog post for you! To live a purposeful life, it is important to have clarity in one’s vision and mission. This will help you reach your goals and find inner peace.
Ready to learn how to live life with meaning and purpose? Let’s dive in!
“The purpose of life is a life of purpose.”
Robert Byrne
Finding yourself and your new life purpose when you become an empty nester
When you become an empty nester, it’s time to figure out who you are in this next chapter of life. You may find yourself with more free time to do things that are important to you. You also might have new roles, such as caring for parents as they get older.
Starting a new phase in your life is complicated. But it’s important to know who you are and what you want during this chapter. When we have a purpose, our satisfaction with life is higher. So how do you find out who you are in this next chapter and your new life’s mission?
In this article, I will share tips on how to live with purpose. Before I do that, let’s look at what purpose is.
What is purpose?
What does it mean to have a purpose in life? Lots of people wonder what their “purpose” is. They think about what kind of life they want to live and how to fulfill their life purpose.
Purpose is the reason for which you do something. It means having a reason to get up every day and being intentional about your life. Having purpose gives you inner peace and improves your health and quality of life.
How do you live your life with passion and purpose?
Below are some tips for living a purposeful life. Following these tips will help bring you closer to a more fulfilling life.
Live in a way that is true to your core beliefs and values.
One way to live on purpose is to examine your beliefs and values. If you know your core values, you can make decisions that align with how you want to live. Know what’s important in your life, and this will influence how you spend time, energy and money every day. When we live life according to our core beliefs and values, we are happier and more fulfilled.
Set priorities for what you care about the most.
If you know your values, it’s easier to set priorities for what matters most. It’s easy to get sidetracked by unimportant things if we do not consciously focus on the important matters. To determine what is most important, do the following activity. Identify which areas of your life are most important to you (e.g., family, friends, work, spirituality, etc.). Then give each area a priority from highest to lowest.
Doing this activity will help you understand how to spend your time and energy. Then you can set priorities for what matters most in your life right now. The priorities you set now don’t have to be what you set for your entire life. As your life progresses, these priorities can change depending on how you feel and what is going on in your life.
You might find it impossible to do everything you want, so you may have to make trade-offs.
If you spend your time and energy on the things that matter most, then all the important things will get done.
Follow your heart and pursue your dreams.
How long has it been since you thought about what you love to do? You may have spent the last 18+ years focusing on your kids. Now that they are older, it’s time to consider how you spend your days.
If we don’t find and follow our passion, how can we expect ourselves to be happy and fulfilled in life? Think about the things that always made YOU smile growing up – it might have been dancing, painting, or singing. Whatever your special talents were, how did they make YOU feel inside? Is there something you’ve wanted to do all your life, but never had the time? Living life with passion is what drives us to do the things we love to do.
It doesn’t matter how old or young you are, find your passion and live it! This is one way to be happy as an empty nester. You might even start thinking about what new passions interest you.
Balance your life.
It’s important to live a balanced life. When was the last time you had balance? Achieving balance will make you feel better. You’ll have more energy and enthusiasm for the things that are most important to YOU! Creating balance is one of the key areas I focus on with my coaching clients.
There are many ways that we can create balance in our lives.
Work/Life Balance
How can you have more time for the things that matter most to YOU, while still earning a living? Having a life outside of work is important. If you’re feeling too much stress and pressure from your career, it might be time for something new. You might even consider changing your career path altogether!
Physical Balance
How can you have more energy for the things that matter most in your life?
One way is to find ways to exercise and eat healthy foods every day! This will make you feel better.
Financial Balance
How much do you spend vs how much do you earn? How can you better manage your money so that you can live a comfortable and stress-free lifestyle? If debt or credit card bills are piling up, how can you pay it off? Financial burden can create stress and may be a choice area to focus on.
We need to consider all these factors when to achieve balance in our lives. To learn more about these areas of wellness and to find out what the other areas are, check out this post.
Learn to be content and to live in the present moment.
Stop and smell the roses and enjoy this moment!
It’s important to feel content with how you live your life. Being content means being happy and satisfied with how things are now. When you are content, you won’t be so focused on how things used to be. Instead, you will have an inner peace with how things are in the present moment.
Be aware of how you feel today, right now. When we live in the past or future, we can get down or stressed. But when we live in the present, we can enjoy life.
Cultivate a sense of wonder and gratitude.
When you feel content with how your life is going, it will be easier to cultivate awe and gratitude. These are powerful emotions that everyone should experience in their lifetime!
Awe or wonder comes when we see beauty in the world around us. Gratitude means recognizing how much good there is in the world and how many blessings we have each day.
You might want to start a gratitude journal to cultivate more gratitude into your life.
To cultivate awe and wonder, think about how beautiful this planet is. Try to find one awe-inspiring thing each day. One thing I like to do is take a picture of something I think is beautiful each day.
Make a difference in other people’s lives by practicing goodwill.
Goodwill is putting the needs of others before our own. It’s about helping others in need without any expectation of personal gain.
How can you impact your community or someone else’s life through your altruism? You can’t change everything, but everything you do adds up! Find a cause that you’re passionate about and learn how you can help. It’s a great way to make a difference in the world!
You can also find opportunities to practice small acts of kindness every day! These small acts of kindness can have a profound effect on other people.
Read more books that help you find your purpose.
Reading is one of the best ways to learn how other people think, how they came up with ideas and what actions they took. When you read about how successful people live their lives, it will help you think about how to live YOUR life. You might find what you want in life from reading about how others have been successful.
Focus on how the ideas and stories within them inspire YOU!
Browse Amazon for the top-selling books in these genres to help inspire you:
Inspirational/Motivational Books
Biographies or Autobiographies
Books on how to live your best life
Read books and connect the dots. Think about how you can apply the ideas and actions to your own life.
Consider what others value about you.
Listening to how other people appreciate you can be extremely powerful. When people say what they love about us, it gives us confidence and also points out our strengths. This can help us figure out our purpose.
Try focusing on your strengths, and don’t forget how others view that too! You might find new ways to take on the world and live your life to the fullest.
Find and develop a positive community around you.
Having a positive community around you is how we can feel safe, supported and loved. When people are around positive people who inspire them, it is easier to be the best version of ourselves.
How will YOU find a community around you? You can form communities at work, church/synagogue/mosque/temple, or anywhere you can find to volunteer.
You might even start an online community of people passionate about the same things.
Believe in your abilities.
Believing in yourself is how we can go after our dreams and follow our heart. It’s important to believe that you have a purpose on this planet, even if it might not make sense right now.
If you start to question whether your dreams are possible, use your doubts as a chance to grow. Also, think about how much progress and growth you’ve already made in your life.
How could you use your previous growth as motivation and belief in your abilities?
We won’t know how things could change if we don’t believe in ourselves and our capabilities! You’ll never regret trying, but you might regret keeping things the same – so go for it!
Conclusion:
It might be difficult to figure out how to live life with purpose, but it’s worth the effort. With the above tips, you can live on purpose and be the best version of yourself. You deserve to live a fulfilling life full of inner peace, joy and meaning. Start living your meaningful life today. Download the free workbook pdf to help you live an intentional life!
