The Mission-Driven Life

My morning was contemplative, and left me with some thoughts I want to share. Had a nice walk down Pine Street to Head House Square for some fresh veggies and fruit from one of the last farmer’s markets of the season. Then a coffee from Bodhi Coffee, and it was so nice out that I sipped it on the street, watching life swirl by me. I reflected on culture and change, on how our environments shape us, on what drives us to do the things we do and become the people we are.

That last idea: that even without being aware, we are always driven to do the things we do and act the way we act because of some motivation. If you dig deep enough, you’ll find those motivations stem from beliefs which underpin how we see and make sense of the world around us and our place in it. Somewhere, hidden within the texture of those beliefs, a mission is trying to make itself clear to us, but most of the time we are blind to it, maneuvering through life, passively responding to our environments.

Finding your mission means understanding deeply the beliefs that shape how you see and make sense of the world. That is not an easy task, because often you must ask yourself: why or how do you know a particular belief to be true? If you changed your belief, how would your actions have to change?

Sometimes we must let our beliefs change in order to change our habits.

However, It is not solely our beliefs which impact the world we live in; it is more often the actions that stem from those beliefs. You must ask yourself: what is the impact you want to make through your actions, and do all your beliefs work to generate actions that contribute to the kind of world you want to live in? If not, it’s time to question and re-shape some of your beliefs, because living a mission-driven life is not something you do by accident; It’s something you do with clear intention.

So tell me: are you living a mission-driven life?