success

Have pen and paper or a small dictaphone with you all day and record every significant thing you did. Success is individual. Decide for yourself what to record. They don’t have to be big things. Did you turn down that piece of pie at lunch? Did you make every call you had to at work, or not speak crossly to your kids once? Write it all down.

Watch your list grow as the day progresses. As you hit ten successes, shoot for twenty-five. When you hit twenty-five, go for forty. At the end of the day, read over your list and take note of how much you accomplished. The criteria for accomplishments are yours and yours alone. Something trivial to one person can seem insurmountable to another. See if today’s list is unusual or ordinary for you. If you have forty-seven accomplishments and it’s a normal day, think for a moment how successfully you manage your life.

If you never thought about purpose in life, or thought about it and decided you didn’t have one, remember that everyone has a purpose, even if the difference between those who say they do and those who say they don’t is merely a matter of recognition.

Have this question in mind as you go about your business today, getting ready for New Year’s Eve and another year “What is my purpose in life?” While it’s a pretty broad question, after a while you’ll start to come up with thoughts that resemble a direction, if not an answer. Just keep playing with the question as if it were a soccer ball that you kick all over the field.

Try to protect yourself from any premature conclusions. Let the question reside in you, be with you, permeate your being, and be transformed in the process.

You may decide your purpose is to show people how to live more joyfully, or help end world hunger, or bring people together for love. Try to narrow it down. Be as specific as possible. For instance, “My purpose is to show anyone that he or she can play the guitar,” or “My purpose is to help athletes work through their injuries in a loving and gentle way.” Each individual is like no other, and the ups and downs, joys and sorrows, good and bad times, are so much more meaningful if they are placed in a larger context, one that partakes of purpose, of the sense that no other individual who has lived or ever will live can replicate your singular destiny.

If you drink six cups of coffee a day, or smoke too many cigarettes, or drink a lot of beer, go a day without doing any of this and see how it feels. See what life is like without these substances filtering your experience. What does food taste like? How does it feel to carry out a task without the impact of coffee?

Do you want to stop biting your nails, interrupting people, driving too fast? Give it up for one day. Ask everyone around you to reinforce your decision and help you focus your awareness on the behavior you wish to improve. Observe yourself without judgment. Turn this day into a small—but significant—beginning.