For me, the finishing touches of my midlife re-creation coincided with the pandemic. What better time to pause, be quiet and listen to what the universe was trying to tell me, especially at the onset of COVID-19 where the whole world came to a standstill.
So, the question might be “What has the universe been trying to teach you?” I have recently been reminded that teaching is only meaningful if we are willing to learn. Thus, the real question is “What have we learnt and what are we doing about it?”
One of the lessons that I have taken to heart, is ‘living with INTENTION’.
For me, the starting point was a clear understanding of “What is the driving force behind ‘Madri’?” To understand this, I needed to gain clarity of my core values and critically reflect upon what that actually meant for me.
Values are foundational beliefs that anchor our lives and they are different and unique for every person. Riana Goosen cautions us in her book ‘Designed to Be’ not to confuse our ‘core values’ with ‘moral values’ which refer to society’s general sense of right or wrong or ‘aspirational values’ that usually include the ‘shoulds’ and ‘oughts’.
It is important to identify the values that represent the authentic and unique ‘you’.
Another critical step was to take agency of my own decision-making. The secret was not to start making my own decisions but to realise that many of my so-called decisions were in reality not owned by me.
They might have been the ‘should’ and ‘ought’ decisions, or the ones that fit ‘nicely’ into the norms of society, or most often the ‘comfortable’ or ‘habitual’ decisions that lacked the effort of conscious contemplation and consideration.
As we are getting ready to start the new year, take some time out to consciously decide what 2022 might look like for you should you wish to ‘live your life with intention and purpose’. Consider gifting yourself the breathing space and the grace to meaningfully explore that.
This is what a client of mine had to say after such a journey:
“I feel fuelled to lead a purposeful life, grounded in ‘connectedness’, doing my own special thing with confidence and hopefully inspiration to others.” Tanja, 2021
I have learnt that being different is what sets us apart; that we don’t have to conform to what we think society expects. I believe we all have something unique to offer and that we deserve the chance to do what is true, meaningful, and extraordinary for us. I have walked this path and to get a sense of how I in turn can help you, please visit my website for more details or reach out to me by completing the contact form.
Let’s apply the lessons we have learnt during the pandemic and choose to live our lives with intention and purpose!
Source: Goosen, R. (2019). Designed to be. South Africa: Novus Printing Solutions.
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