What drives your life?

A friends statement in Facebook read, "These days people are more busy finding parking spots for their car than finding parking spots in people's heart."

To expand this a little, people, including myself - guilty as charged, are busy busy busy. And it is all about me, me, me.

How many take time to just sit quietly every day? Or meditate? Or speak to God or listen to God? Or be one with Universe?

Sorry, I am too busy. No time. We are no longer driven in life by the right things, the things that ought to matter.

In Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, he starts the book by the biggest and simplest revelation, "IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU!"

So what drives your life?

Many are driven by guilt. They spend their whole lives running away from regrets and hiding their shame. They allow their negative past to control their present and their future.

It took me a while from having the dark knowledge of my past, way way past, lives long gone, to be able to move on in the present.

Many are driven by resentment or anger. They spend their whole life being angry at something or someone and sometimes even at themselves for nothing. People hold on to hurts from the past and never learn to let them go. Eventually this anger and resentment controls them.

Many are driven by fear. We all have some fears but when we are driven by fear, it consumes us. 

Many are driven by materialism. Most people driven by material goods will never have the spiritual peace. They are driven to acquire more and more possessions and believe that security can only be found in having more.

Many are driven by need for approval. Many people allow their need for other people’s approval to control their lives. They spend their lives worrying about what others think of them.

There are five main benefits to living a purpose-driven life. They are:

1. Knowing My Purpose Gives Meaning To My Life - Humans were made to have meaning. Without purpose, life is meaningless. A meaningless life is a life without hope or significance. This is a profound statement and one that everyone should spend time pondering. Universe gives purpose. Purpose gives meaning. Meaning gives hope and significance. There is awesome truth contained within that logic.
2. Knowing My Purpose Simplifies My Life - My purpose becomes the standard I use to determine which activities are important and which are not. If an activity does not further my purpose it can, and often should, be removed or ignored. My purpose gives me the foundation on which to base decisions and allocate my time and resources.
3. Knowing My Purpose Focuses My Life - With a determined purpose I can focus my time and energy on what is truly important. Without purpose I may always be getting distracted and changing direction. Focusing on a few things that fulfill my purpose will yield better results than attempting to focus on many things that may not.
4. Knowing My Purpose Motivates My Life - Purpose produces passion. By knowing my purpose I will be passionate about achieving it.
5. Knowing My Purpose Prepares Me For Eternity - My time on earth is nothing more than a preparation for eternity. What matters in the end is not whether people remember me after I am gone but what Universe says about my life. Building an eternal legacy is far more important than building an earthly one.

You know, in the book, Warren takes you through a 40-day journey.

In January this year, I talked about a 30-day journey.

Today, I tell you a journey does not require 30 days or 40 days or 100 days. It does not matter how long you remain on the journey.

What is most important is the first step to start a journey. Most people who read this may not even start on their journey, some are already well into their journey. Either way, the most important and critical path of any journey is starting one.

So, come on, do it, take that first step, make that first decision, start your journey.

Take care and be well.