My friend, Mrs. Reagan, blogged about Being on Purpose yesterday and it helped me put into words my journey thoughts. Her blog describes the motivation of being on purpose as described by John C. Maxwell, a well known author of leadership books. I've enjoyed reading a few of his books, he is able to break down leadership theories into simple, thought changing steps. His book 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is a lifetime favorite of mine.
Purpose has never been anything I lack. I feel like most things I've done in life (since late high school) has been with purpose. I distinctly remember being unhappy in high school and knowingly taking steps to change that. As soon as I got to my alma mater I joined a ba-zillion organizations, stepped out of my comfort zone, and became the socialable person I continue to be today.
My purpose in life has always been to get to 'next'. Whether that was establishing my fraternity, graduating college, getting a real job, getting promoted, graduating graduate school, or getting married I have always been on a path concerned only with the next step. I struggle with people who are complacent and lack ambition, I just don't know where they are coming from.
Living a life of purpose is a great thing in most circumstances, until life changes and your purpose ultimately follows suit. For the last five years I've been a retail manager working towards next level, be that a higher volume, higher complex store or ultimately a district manager position. As many of you know two months ago my life shifted and priorities changed. We found out that Rebecca was expecting our first little one, subsequently fetally-named Blueberry.
My faith journey led me to the realization that I could not continue to focus on my career without regard for family. Previous career decisions had put me at odds for being the kind of husband and father I need to be. It was a hard pill to swallow that some of the steps I have taken to pursue my purpose/career were selfish and detrimental to my current family situation. It was almost as if the purpose of my life was at odds with what my life had become - that I could no longer continue my career growth and family growth at the same time.
Wonderfully I work for a company and boss that understands the focus of family and the sacrifices one must make when their purpose shifts suddenly. My boss and I have been working together on a fix for my work/life balance and have announced such a fix this week.
It is with a sorrow heart that I leave my current store for another within the same company family, but a different brand. It is a store much closer to my house and family (cut my commute in half or more) and has a promise of a better work/life balance. My new store does not put my career on hold by any means, just a small detour from the plans I once had. Blueberry, my new purpose of life will impact future purposes more than I can imagine. I don't know if I will return to the same purpose or start a new path when that time comes.
The purpose of my life is changing and that's expected. I feel like my journey has brought me to the comfortability to admit that my purpose can change without losing all that I have worked for previously.
Please continue to pray for my family as we grow and our purpose is enriched by another life.
3 comments:
wow. amazing post. very insightful and blindingly honest. I appreciate you and we will continue to have you guys and baby blueberry in our thoughts and prayers.
Not to repeat exactly what The Mrs. said but ...WOW, extremely proud of you for being such a loving family Man. It takes an extremely confident and purposeful man to make the decisions you have made this past week. Rebecca and Blueberry are extremely lucky to have you as head of their family. And I know that you realize how lucky you are as well. You guys are in my thoughts and prayers, always, even when I haven't talked to you personally in awhile, love you guys, LaLa
This is just precious. You are already becoming the best husband/daddy you can by starting now to fix that balance. I have no doubt you will succeed and Congrats on the new store. Lovies to you both. Glad the comments work now. :)
Post a Comment