Purpose or Agenda

Are you like me? 

I don’t always take the time to consciously think about what I’m doing, or why I’m doing it…I just do it!  I find I have more things to do, than I have time to do them, and I’m often concerned with just getting things done!  Sometimes I need a wake up call.  It dawns on me a lot of the behavior I want to believe is coming from my purpose, probably isn’t from my purpose at all…it’s coming from my agenda.

“We teach what we need to learn,“ is an old adage, but it’s so true. 

Will Rogers said something also about learning that really applies to me.  He said that there are “ones that learn by reading, a few who learn by observation, and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.”  Guess where I am?  Standing in line to get to the fence! 

The good part is…I remember what I learn, and it often shows up in my writing.

What does all this have to do with the subject, Purpose or Agenda? 

Whether we’re actively looking for our purpose, our life purpose, that is, our reason for being here….or we simply believe that our experience is better, richer, and more fulfilling when we embrace our purpose…purpose is still important to us. 

Why then, do we get so caught up in our agendas that we lose sight of our purpose?

Purpose can be defined as:  intended or desired result; the aim or reason for which something is done or is used.  Purpose and agenda are sometimes used interchangeably, but they mean far different things.  Agenda is:  a list, or an idea, of what we want to accomplish. 

Agendas tend to be personal, not always well formulated, often impulsive, and not based in wisdom, education, or experience.  It is our agendas which can lead us to the “electric fences” which Will Rogers spoke of.

I developed a course on overwhelm, for women, because so many people around me were stressed and overwhelmed, and were lacking joy in their lives.  It was while I was working on this course, and bringing joy back into my own life, that I learned the difference in having a purpose, and having an agenda. 

You see, I couldn’t have my own agenda while I was writing the course.

The course had a plan of it’s own, and it named itself, Surrender Your Agenda: Finding Your Life Purpose. The course taught me when I choose to surrender, to have a purpose, to be focused on a goal, a result, a reason…I am coming from my heart.  If instead, I have an agenda, that is…my idea of how, what, why, when, and where, it doesn’t work.  That agenda is usually coming from my head.

Find some quiet time.  Give yourself permission to see clearly what you need to know.  Journal, because journaling will help you dig deeper into what you have hidden from yourself.  Quiet your mind, connect with your heart, and allow yourself to know who you want to be in the world.  Ask yourself:  “Where do I have an unconscious agenda which is not in alignment with my deepest purpose?”

When you check with your heart, and realize you may surrender your agenda to serve your purpose, you will find that your heart has the perfect answers you’ve been looking for.

Joy & Blessings,  Carole  xx

Tags: agenda, Check With Your Heart, life purpose, Observation, Old Adage, Overwhelm, Personal Agenda, Purpose, Surrender Your Agenda, Wakeup Call, Wisdom