Just Getting By

An interesting point was made this morning during the Connect4 couple share.

It can be boiled down to this question: do you live your life with a purpose, or are you just getting by?

The point was made discussing a book about raising children, but could apply to life in general, especially during such trying times as the one in which the current economic situation has placed so many of us.

So, how are you living? Is there a larger purpose that governs your life, that holds you accountable, that provides you with perspective? Or, are you just getting by?

I am reminded of a point an old professor often made, contrasting purpose and plan.

If you have a plan (a specific means and ends), what happens if the planned path closes? For example, if you plan to drive to Nashville on I-40, what happens if, for whatever reason, they block the interstate? You're up the creek if you have time constraints. The end goal of your plan is thwarted just because you haven't allowed room for adjustments.

This is how it is when you're just getting by, when you're so focused on the here and now that you lose sight of the bigger picture.

If, rather than focusing on the plan, you focus on the purpose (a specific ends, but not means), you can make adjustments. If your purpose is to get to Nashville, you can take any number of roads to get there. If there is a roadblock, it doesn't matter so much. You could get off the beaten path and enjoy the scenery. And maybe you were meant to take the long way, to see the small towns between here and there, to experience something other than the interstate, which is pretty much the same all over.

When you have a purpose, you may have a plan as well, but you also have backup plans that can get you where you need to be. Remember, the plan isn't the goal, but what gets you to the goal; the goal is your destination.