Destination Inspiration

April 2008

The Power Of Purpose

By Lisbeth Anne Marín

Motivational Training Consultant

Life’s great cosmic questions flash like brightly colored neon signs on an old fashioned diner… Why am I here…?  What am I supposed to be doing...?  What is my purpose?  This is pretty heavy stuff to process on the verge of another non-stop day.  But we all go there; in fact some of you have gotten stuck there, trying to justify this thing called life.

Contemplate the hamster & wheel scenario.  Have you ever actually watched this awkward phenomenon?  Every now and then our marathon inspired rodent, although totally familiar with its repetitive track, takes a clumsy misstep… pitifully flopping and tumbling around.  The amazing thing is that they waste no time returning to their mission… run the wheel, run the wheel on and on… what could they be thinking, what instinct drives them?  

Lately I’ve been envisioning myself as the Hamster Queen, an amusing yet somewhat bizarre reflection of self.  I am dedicated to diligently running the proverbial wheel, with dogged determination to stay on track and maintain my goal.  That being; “I’d Rather Be Free Than Rich”!

It’s probably not difficult to conjure up an image of the frustrating struggle we endure to manage our endless responsibilities.  Maybe it’s your finances or the dreaded challenge of another diet or a health obstacle.  Perhaps parenting or the big Kahuna, relationships, is catapulting you off your wheel with an abrupt thump. These repetitive trial and failure exercises can either fuel our desire to push on and get it right or drive us kicking and screaming to the place where we just quit.  Still not convinced that the wheel is your friend?

Think about it, we might fantasize about the idyllic life of a millionaire or the perfect relationships those slimmer or younger girls are having.  Maybe it’s the easy life those other folks clearly experience in comparison to all of your problems.  NOT!  That’s just hogwash folks.  Nobody’s life is all hunky-dory regardless of how sweet it appears…all of God’s Chilin got trouble!  

I’ve deduced that success in life is about the ability to push past trouble, solve problems and keep on going with your ‘you-ness’ intact.  There are no silver bullets to accelerate the process.  In fact, I’ve seen conspicuous wreckage that stands as a glaring example of what shortcuts not to take.  We all know someone who is in ridiculous debt because they needed to accumulate so much stuff to define their happiness.  I’m amazed at the number of people I see staying in miserable relationships.  Watching their dance of doom makes me want to run away like my backside is on fire and just revel in my self imposed singleness!  So many people seek external solutions for unresolved internal emotional issues and like hamsters, find themselves buried under the wood chips.  The evangelist, Joyce Myers, sums up this detour perfectly.  She says “There are no drive through break-throughs…if you want to get through; you’ve got to go through”. 
Whoop there it is! 

Falling off that wheel may actually define the humble hamster’s core value on this earth as it illustrates one of life’s most valuable lessons.  The many bumps along the road of life’s journey demand the gumption to get back on and run the wheel.  I submit the hamster’s example of persistence and diligence be used as a metaphor for life.  When you fall, it is typically accompanied by a less than graceful flop, drop or roll.  It looks bad and it feels worse but you can’t stay there.  Go ahead, wretch and cry and get ticked off…while you’re at it feel sorry for yourself as you wallow and whine, blah, blah, blah.  But learn something from it and start accumulating a more realistic mojo for the tough times.  Remember, we don’t learn from getting things right, human beings learn from error, the more painful the more poignant.  Sure, it hurts, yup it’s not fair but it-is what it-is. Your ability to move through each challenge and come back swinging may help you to answer those enormous, cosmic questions as you move toward your ultimate reward.  My theory is that we are here to experience a multitude of lessons wrapped in failures and have the faith to keep on trying.  You miss every shot you don’t take~!

Granted, it’s hard and of course there is that awful audible flopping noise but the squeaky wheel stands waiting for you to hop back in and run towards the next lesson.  

If you want something you’ve never had,
you’ll have to do something you’ve never done. 

Lisbeth Anne Marín is a Motivational Training Consultant and Public Speaker specializing in interpersonal and organizational development skills.  She presents a wide array of staff development training programs, motivational seminars and interactive human resource workshops.  To view the topics on which training programs can be provided, please visit the website, www.lisbethanne.com or call Lisbeth at 910.867.3163 to discuss your training goals.  The website also features a gallery of award winning designs along with a schedule of complimentary Business Seminars that are presented to the public through the Center for Business and Industry at FTCC.