Get real about PURPOSE

The last year has been the hardest year of my life. Harder than the year I lost my Dad, harder than having three babies under three even harder than the year I cut off my index finger. Why, you wonder has it been so tough, because the purpose in 80% of the areas of my life changed and or went away all together. I have three teens, yep those babies grew up and are finishing up their journey to independence. Most importantly they have started caring what their peers think more than what their dear mom thinks or does. I graduated college, after 22 years of off and on pursuit of my degree. I have a medical condition that no longer allows me to run like I used to. Lastly, my role in my church went away. My point is that purpose means so much more than I ever realized, we all need to feel that the effort we give in this life has value and that we exist for more than just making carbon dioxide. My hubby and many of his teammates are leaving a large company after 13 years of employment. We are giving up a large amount of potential stock money (large enough that my heart skips a beat when thinking about it) and other benefits, one important to me is the 100% insurance coverage, that we have enjoyed for 13 years. Why is he leaving? My wifely, humble and insider opinion is PURPOSE. His company has let him and his teammates sit around for months without any of it. They were still paid, most were not suspecting layoff, but they had nothing of importance to do so they sought and found purpose elsewhere.

It’s taken time, tears and lots of soul searching, but I have begun to understand what my purpose in this next phase of my life is NOT. The majority of my purpose is not my church calling (hard to accept), not my next running PR (hard to let go), not even fully my motherhood (of course this will always be a priority for me.)  I believe my extra purpose is in being and becoming the best dang designer I can. Supporters along this journey will be considered friend, those who make me feel small will be ignored and those who constructively critique and teach me will be my besties!

Interesting article by a top San Diego Branding Agency, Mth Degree, about branding and company purpose. I particularly liked how Steven addresses employees and purpose.

Three Levels of Brand Purpose

Check out my other blog post(s) to help you discover your brand purpose: Mood Boarding