When my daughter was young, I worked crazy long hours. It wasn’t until she was 10 that I had the start of an epiphany: People are the true purpose in our lives. I realized I needed to make a change, make my daughter my priority, arrange my life so that I had time for her.
Unfortunately, I was still of the mind set that I was defined by my job. That my job was my purpose. Yes, I made some changes to my life such as finding a job close to home. We ate dinner together every night. We went on adventures together. I tucked her into bed. I became a friend and confidant to her. But I still let work responsibilities dictate my actions.
The same was true for the rest of my family and friends. The people in my life that truly mattered. I would meet friends for dinner, but only if time away from work allowed. The job was still the priority.
Looking back, I realize now how much I missed. Yes, have a great relationship with my daughter, but I’d hazard a guess that – regardless of the “daddy’s little girl” cliche – my husband has a closer relationship with her. I have wonderful friends, but very few close friends. Of course some of that is due to my reluctance to really get close to people, but also because I never took the time to truly develop those friendships.
Now my daughter is preparing to head off to college. How much did I miss of her growing up? How much am I going to regret not having some of those moments others have with their daughters? What memories did I miss out on making with her, my husband, my friends.
When it comes down to it, the purpose of our job, our career, is really to enable us to have those moments and create those memories. People really are our true purpose in life. Now that you have the time, remember this and begin creating those moments and memories with the people who are your true purpose.
6 responses to “People Are the Real Purpose”
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