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What To Do With My Life: Finding Spiritual Direction

Finding Spiritual Direction Cover Image

“I don’t know what to do with my life!” or “I cannot find what I am passionate about!” If you are struggling with the question of what to do with my life, have you heard this before? I hear it a lot.

In this post, we will explore five ways to address this haunting problem.

Logically Syndicated Killing God Book by Khaldoun Sweis The Blind Spots of Science
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First: Failure is the Backdoor to Success

Failure: The Back Door To Success Erwin Lutzer

The first thing we need to do is to establish that you are not a loser or permanent failure.

Yes, you may have failed you may have really messed things up! But that is not the end for you. If it was you would be dead and not reading this. I recommend Dr. Erwin Lutzer’s book, Failure: The Backdoor to Success, to those who really need help overcoming failure and move past incurable setbacks in their past. You are unique and special. Every time you fail is a chance to do it better next time.

Consider this:

– Michael Jordan, former American basketball player, who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the Most Valuable Player Award five times said:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

And Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, failed over 1000 times before the light went on! He said “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Learn from your failures.

I remember having a folder of over 500 rejection letters from colleges and universities around the world for a full time job! I keep them to remind me to learn from each of them and make the next one better!

Second: Focus on What Matters Most

Watch this short video:

It's about rocks, pebbles and sand. Finding direction in life starts with identifying the most important things. What are the most important things in your life? Then move to the secondary things, the pebbles, then finally the sand. Focus on these. Make an inventory of how you will focus on them. The beer symbolizes the fluff or fun side of life.

Make a list of what is truly important to you. Focus on these first then start with the others.

Now, I can’t let a post go by without quoting CS Lewis can I?

He wrote:

You can’t get second things by putting them first. You get second things only by putting first things first. — C.S. Lewis, “First and Second Things,” in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics (Eerdmans, 1994), p. 280.

I also strongly recommend Michael Hyatt’s work to help you focus. He really helped me do that.

Three: Become a Master of Your Time

7 Habits of Highly Successful People Book Cover

If you do not, your time will master you. Then you will look in the mirror one day and realize your best years are behind you! Check out Steven Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.

Especially habit number 3: Put first things first.

Below is a chart from Covey’s book on time. It helped me to prioritize what is urgent and important.

If you do not, your time will master you. Then you will look in the mirror one day and realize your best years are behind you! Check out Steven Covey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.

Especially habit number 3: Put first things first.

Below is a chart from Covey’s book on time. It helped me to prioritize what is urgent and important.

Time management matrix Steven Covey's book

Four: If you could do something for free what would it be?

Make a list of the main things you want to do. And why they are important to you. Then think about and write about what steps or degree you need to take to achieve these goals.

Be realistic, You cannot do anything! No, you cannot beat Michael Jordan or Michael Phelps records in sports if you never played those sports. You cannot go to the moon if you are not an astronaut!

With that said, stop and imagine…..what will it be like for your family and you if you keep doing the same thing you are doing now. Think of the pain and monotony it will continue to create. Stop and feel it and imagine the looks on your family’s’ faces when they see you constantly unwell physically, physiological/ spiritually….

If you feel lost, seeking spiritual direction can help you navigate these feelings. After a few minutes…imagine what it will be like for you to come home from a long day doing what you LOVE… think about it for a few minutes until you feel the it passion in it. This is called your passion. But beware of your “following your passion” in fact I caution people not to do that! See my post on “Don’t Follow your Passion.” So then did I just contradict myself? Not if what your passion is, is what will help you grow within and make the world a better place (which includes providing a living wage for you and your family!)

Fifth: Know Your Purpose

My friend Tom V. Morris wrote many good books on philosophy and success. I have learned much from him. For example, Unhappy people can’t sustain excellence in their endeavors, no matter how good they otherwise might be with goal setting.

To learn to be connected with a purpose, you need to have a firm grip on Four Foundations in life.

This is the core of Christian spiritual formation:

  • Truth: The goal for The Intellectual Dimension of our experience
  • Beauty: The pinnacle for The Aesthetic Dimension of our experience
  • Goodness: The quest for The Moral Dimension of our experience
  • Unity: The ultimate quarry for The Spiritual Dimension of our experience

I hope to break these down for us later. For now, Aristotle said that all things in the universe have a telos, or purpose to them. What is yours? Let me say this as clear as I can, you cannot find true fulfillment if you do not have that last area of Unity ironed out in your life.

Some Great Books To Consider

Big Picture Books

These are all books that have shifted how I think about business as such. They’ve had a direct impact on the success I’ve experienced so far. Much of this is from Michael Hyatt!

Theological Books

Books to consider to know about who or what God is and why it matters.

I am convinced that a man cannot know himself well until he comes to terms with his creator.

Strategy Books

When we’re working in a business, it’s easy to forget about working on the business. But it’s essential to focus on the business if we want to keep moving ahead and growing.

Productivity Books

Personal and professional achievement are high values for me. That’s why I read a lot on the topic of productivity. These have been game-changers for me.

Exploring These Questions Personally

Some questions about faith and doubt cannot be resolved by arguments alone. They are lived, wrestled with, and experienced over time.

If you’d like thoughtful, non-judgmental ways to explore these questions more deeply, here are a few options:

→ Executive Coaching → Online Course → Books for Deeper Exploration

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