Sometimes, I have anxiety about falling short of my purpose.

The irony of that is because I get anxious, I get stagnant.  I stop moving toward my goals because I’m too busy worrying about not reaching them.

So, to overcome that fear, I try to tell myself the things I need to hear by writing myself notes or letters.  In these letters, I challenge myself to push through my anxiety.

Today, I want to share one of those letters with you.

This letter came out of frustration with my lack of productivity over the last month with this blog.  Instead of following through on my goal to publish every week, I was allowing my anxiety to control me.  I began to worry about the success of this blog and stopped doing the work to make it successful.  So, I sat down and typed out a letter to try to get myself back on the right track.

Once I finished it and read it back, I felt so motivated that I immediately started writing again.  I revisited the goals I set in January and realigned myself with my purpose.

Sometimes, all you have to do to get back on track is encourage yourself.

I tend to be pretty hard on myself, so this letter may seem a bit harsh, but it was exactly what I needed to hear.

I hope it’s as helpful to you as it was to me.

The Letter

You’re alive for a reason.  You have a purpose.  If you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m certain you will.  Your life is likely already telling you and pulling you in the direction where you’re needed.

You have work to do.  You have something to add to the conversation.  Your voice, your style, your point of view, it’s all within you to help you accomplish your purpose.

Perhaps you already know your purpose.  If not, when the time is right, you’ll see it.  You’ll hear it.  You’ll know and recognize that thing is your purpose.

But it’s important for you to realize that your purpose isn’t about you.

Seriously… It’s not about you.

Yes, I understand you have plans, goals, and dreams.  But your calling is about serving others one way or another.  It’s about helping someone else.  It’s not about you, it’s about them.

There’s nothing wrong with chasing your dreams, but the truth is, you’re here to serve others.  We all are.  We are our brothers (and sisters) keepers and our point is to help others through our calling.

The problem is this truth terrifies us.

We don’t want the responsibility.  We don’t want the difficulty.  We just want to go through life, keep our heads down, maybe make a few friends, have a few good times, and grow old.

I know this from my own experience.

There’s always been a pull on my life to be helpful to other people, but I never knew what that looked like.

To be honest, I never wanted to find out.

I wanted to earn a good living, travel with my wife, play golf as often as possible, and live happily ever after.

But that nagging feeling that I needed to help people just kept growing.

I started to have trouble sleeping, focusing on work and finding fulfillment in life.  My plans were no longer enough to please me.  I  needed something more.

So I began reading books and blogs, in hopes of finding my answer.  During this time I even took a career aptitude test, that was a complete waste of time.  I found myself more confused than before, but there was no going back.

I knew I wanted to change, I wanted to be a better man.  So I’d jot down things I wanted to improve.  I made lists of things I wanted to change and wanted to improve.

I found that most of the things I wanted to change, were things I was afraid of.  They were things that made me anxious. That’s when I found my purpose: help people overcome anxiety by sharing my journey. By sharing my journey, I’d encourage people along their journey.

Today, I’m writing and sharing my most difficult emotions with you.  My hope is that something I say will resonate with you and help you live a better life.

Your Purpose Will Push You

Just a few months ago, I was the quiet introvert who enjoyed silence more than conversation.  In fact, I shied away from conversations out of fear.  I was afraid that what I might say was silly, offensive, or unintelligent.

It’s not that I’ve overcome everything yet.  I’m still anxious about my words.  I’m still anxious about sharing my life with you.  I still struggle with confidence, self-esteem, anxiety, fear, worry, and doubt.  I still think I’ll fail even though I know just being here, sharing with you is the utmost success.

But I’ve decided to embrace this pull on my life, this calling.

Once I decided to embrace it, I began to understand, that it wasn’t something I had to do for me.
It was something I had to do for you.

I have a specific voice and I have to use it to help you.  The beauty of that is, I want to give you my best.  To give you my best, I have to push through my own fears to keep my commitment and make sure I’m serving you.

It’s so important to embrace your purpose.

Why?

Because someone, somewhere is counting on you.  That person needs your help.  You’re the one who is going to make the difference.  We need you!

I know you’re scared. I know you may think you don’t have what it takes to make a real impact in this world.  But the real impact starts with just one person.  You don’t have all the answers, but you can definitely help find some of them.

I know it’s easier to hide behind your fears.  But someone is waiting for you to accept that you have something in you to share.  You have a call you have to answer and work that you have to do.  A work that is bigger than you.  A work that will be helpful to someone who is desperate for your help.

How long will you let him wait?

How long will you let her struggle?

Life isn’t just about having good times, life is about impact.  Life is about making sure the trail behind you is better because you walked it.

Life is about helping, serving, and caring for others.

Life is about showing love to the people around us.  It’s about caring for the next person, regardless of who they are to make their lives better.

It’s not just about you.  It’s not about me.  It’s about them.

If we can manage that, if we can find our purpose and operate in that to serve others, the good times will come.  Prosperity will come.  Fulfillment will come and we’ll all be better for it.

Next Action Steps

Have you ever written yourself a letter?  If you’re willing to be honest and say the things you know you need to hear, this can be a powerful exercise for you.  Give it a try and share how things went in the comments below.