What Are You Doing With Your Life?

I was meeting with a friend a few years ago at a coffeeshop and we were talking about what was happening in our lives, at school and what we were working towards. The conversation was light and we were enjoying the company of one another. But the conversation made a turn and my friend began sharing about his frustration with where he was at in life. Not exceeding at anything. Simply doing a job. And stuck in his hometown in his parent’s basement. This was difficult to hear because he is one of the most talented and passionate individuals I have ever met, and I knew he could offer so much more with his life. That day our conversation in the coffeeshop changed his life, because he made a decision and answered a tough question I asked him that I had been asked before: “What are you doing with your life?”

The question came when he was sharing how he felt stuck with his job and trapped in mind because he did not know what to do. Because I knew him and understood the potential he had, I asked him the questions, “What are you doing with your life? Where is your life taking you right now?” He wasn’t living up to his potential, nor was he excelling at anything in his life. He was on a dangerous path where he could end up just simply existing. And then 20 years down the road, he would look back and wonder what it was all for… It wasn’t for a lack of caring or desire to do something, he simply felt stuck and didn’t know how to get out.

The question that day changed his course. The same question changed my course a couple years earlier. It was a humbling life lesson to learn that day. Reminded me of the quote from Zig Ziglar, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time”. If you don’t have dreams, desires and a vision for your life, you will simply just exist and nothing more. You won’t add anything to the world, you will only be a consumer. Maybe some are okay with that, but it does not sit well with me. I want to make a difference, I want to change lives, I want to use the gifts and talents God has given me to leave the world a better place and I want to make an impact and be remembered for doing something great.

Beginning that day, we began to make a plan, to talk about the things we would like to do with our life, and then formulate a plan of action in order to attain those dreams. God certainly has a destiny and role for you, but it won’t always fall into your lap. More often than not, you have to make choices and participate in your calling. You have to do something! All too often we hear people use the excuse, “I am waiting on God to move.” Well, let’s flip that around and say, “maybe God is waiting on YOU to move and do something!”

Beginning that day, my friend pursued a college where he could both play a sport he loved and was talented at, as well as pursue his passion of worship ministry. He began to develop his passion and his talent was starting to intersect with his training. Because of the changes he made in his life that day, he accomplished many things in his life he had set out to do. He attained a college degree, got married, competed in a collegiate sport and held leadership positions in churches where he led people in worship. He may not feel like he has “arrived” quite yet, but I guarantee you he feels the passion and purpose in his life awakened from the changes he made that day. He is arriving at his vision, because he set goals and discovered the purpose in his life. What’s yours?

Here is what I want to ask you today, right in this moment. What are you doing with your life? I don’t ask to demean, I ask to challenge. This question changed my life, and my friend’s life, because it forced us to find our purpose. To find A purpose. It gave us something to aim our lives at. What will it force you to do? Take a look at your life right now. Are you doing what you love? Are you loving what you do? What things get you excited when you wake up in the morning? Are you positively affecting the world with what you put your hands to? Do you feel empty? Do you feel like ‘there has to be something more’? Are you falling into complacency? What are you doing with your life?!

If you feel like there is something missing in your life, YOU have the power and the opportunity to change. In life, you may not always make the right decision, but you do have the power to make any decision right. Take some time right now and ask yourself, “Am I doing the absolute best I can?”

Are the dreams and visions for your life being fulfilled in where you work and serve? If not, maybe it is time to reevaluate. What are you doing with your life? You have the power, you have the choice. Make your life matter today by choosing to improve your tomorrow!

Resource: “The Traveler’s Gift”-  by Andy Andrews