The Prerequisite for a Purposeful Life

Howdy! 

It has been a while since i've been back on here, and there has been so many changes happening in my life, and I am very exciting to share those details once I am able to. 

I wanted to pick your brain for a second and ask you a question (feel free to comment down below). What do you think you need for a purposeful life?

I actually asked this question to a group of women earlier today and got a variety of responses. Some said finances, while others mentioned discipline and a good prayer life.  While many of those responses are in fact, valid, I wanted to share what I thought would be a great prerequisite to a purposeful life. As a matter of fact, I doubt that many people consider it to be something to discuss at times. 

So what do I think is a prerequisite to a purposeful life? 

The ability to reflect on your pain and move past it. 

It's that simple! Pain is interesting concept that many of us has experienced, usually at a young age. Scientifically, pain is registered in our brains to respond. If we touch a hot stove, the immediate reflex that pain provides is to quickly pull your hand back to a place of safety. Sometimes, we may feel physical pain. Other times, we may feel emotional or mental pain, our brains all work the same, but reflecting on the experiences that bring us pain can sometimes catapult our lives in a different direction than what we intend for ourselves.  

Im going to be frank with you. I cry. A lot. There are many things that happen from day to day, and sometimes I have turn off the smile and have a cry just to recompose. I learned that in the times that I have completely broken down due to a trigger, a feeling that I don't like, or even an intrusive thought, I have to look up. I have to ask why I see the situation in this light, and it helps me to ask God how this pain helps me for the journey that I am on. Pain is obviously not a comfortable feeling, pain teaches you when to pull back. It teaches you that if you stay in that situation long enough, damage can occur. Luckily, God uses our pain to prepare us for our future. He teaches us that our pain strengthens us. That we can handle the next task, and we know when to pull back, we will know when we should hold off or even reassess and ask Him for further guidance. God will use pain to teach us that we need Him to move forward, and that without Him, we will find ourselves in the midst of irreversible damage.

Once you have a clear understanding of why something hurts, the anatomy of what caused your pain, you can learn not to enter into situations that may pose the same risk, even though they look different. Putting your hand in the oven when its on and placing your hand on a hot stove may feel the same, but the environment can look very different, and learning about one situation can help you plan for the next encounter with a cooking object. You will know how to effective use the product with setting clear boundaries to prevent pain (wearing cooking gloves or oven mitts). 

I hope this had you think a little. I plan to be back and active more than ever. Thanks for reading.

Until next time, 

Whitney