Purposeful Living: Turning “Seeds of Hope” into Achievable Goals

Happy New Year!

Are those New Year Resolutions taking root and bearing fruit?

Research shows that about 12% of people who make New Year's goals stick to them for more than a month. Wow – that is concerning and is worthy of attention! Let’s make sure you are not part of that statistic should you have sought a goal for the New Year!

At the Purpose Promise, part of our mission is to come alongside those seeking a more purposeful life and help them identify areas of focus, create goals for change, and sustain the intentional integration of their best life with their work life.

We see a lot of success and life transformation, and we also see a lot of people who make great plans, but fail to execute them.

We have found that there is one demonstrative factor that deters people from living out their goals to live a purposeful life and find purposeful work: Their environment does not reinforce their goals.

In last month's blog, we talked about how your “seeds of hope” that, if identified, can be nurtured to create purposeful life in 2023. This month, let us focus on the nurturing of those seeds.

My farmer friend, Braden, will tell me that seeds are only as good as the soil they are placed. If the soil is not tilled, ripe for growth, and watered, the seeds will die.

How do you ensure that your “seeds of hope” fall on good soil?

You must make sure the environment around you is supportive for your growth.

The systems we live in are very reinforcing. Sometimes those systems reinforce good habits and sometimes they will reinforce poor habits. Your goals will be won or lost based on the reinforcement you get from the systems you live in. To ensure that your “seeds of hope” produce great fruit, you must identify the environment around you and discern the right boundaries to maximize the achievement of your goals.

Boundaries are essential to living in your purpose. If you have clear goals to be more purposeful, you are on the right path.

Next, answer the questions below to gain awareness about the supportive nature of the environment around you. Doing so will shed light on how you can make sure the systems around you reinforce your new desired habits. Remember: the goal in this exercise is to turn your “seeds of hope” into achievable goals!

As you look back at your environment:

• Who do you spend time with that lives the way you want to live?
  • How much time do you spend with them?
  • Could you increase the time you spend with them?
• Who tends to suck the life from your progress toward goals?
  • How could you create a boundary to minimize them quenching the spirit of your goals?
• While at work, do you feel encouraged to grow?
  • If not, is there a way you could create change in the environmental factors that quench the spirit of your goals?
• Have you had direct conversations with your family about your goals?
  • If not, would some crafted communication increase their awareness to support your goal achievement?

Now, look at your answers and commit to three things that are necessary to create boundaries that will increase the reinforcing systems for your goal achievement.

Focus this month on creating these boundaries. These will enrich your soil so that your “seeds of hope” will grow, and create lasting impact that will lead you to more purpose.

This analysis is a great starting point to create the right boundaries. In the Purpose Promise book and Workbook, you will dive deeper and find more support for your healthy growth. Please let us know if we can support you as you turn those “seeds of hope” into achievable goals.