Have Purpose, Be Productive

You know that great feeling of being productive?

There’s nothing like the satisfaction of a job well done.

Of having made a meaningful contribution.

Of feeling useful.

Getting things done is something we all strive for.

But I think we all recognize that there is a certain “magic” to accomplishing this.

It is not simply a question of charging ahead and doing stuff mindlessly.

We end up with no rhyme or reason to what we do.

Nor can it be a matter of spending lots of time thinking, planning, thinking, planning…Get moving, for Pete’s sake!

The magic is clearly in the mix.

Necessary balance in life

Marcus Aurelius says as much in his Meditations:

“Do external things distract you? Then make time for yourself to learn something worthwhile; stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions. But make sure you guard against the other kind of confusion. People who labor all their lives but have no purpose to direct every thought and impulse toward are wasting their time – even when hard at work.”

The wisdom here is the importance of maintaining a certain balance in life:

On the one hand, you have to engage in a productive activity.

But by the same token, you need to direct that activity towards a meaningful goal.

…And therein we can find hope!

It is possible to feel productive and peaceful at the same time.

Here are three takeaways I see for doing this:

Pay attention to your inner calling. You are aware of what you like to do, what you can do, what you want to do. Don’t let others define you.
It takes time and effort to get it touch with yourself. Be sure to allocate time for self reflection.
Educate yourself. How do you know what is important in this world? By learning about it. You then have a better idea of where you fit in.
Maintaining financial balance

Our finances are so essential to our lives.

As such, it is important to maintain that balance when we build our insurance and investment portfolio.

The last time you bought life insurance, did you just go ahead and buy what other people told you to do?

Or did you endlessly shop for quotes but still not buy a thing?

Or maybe you struck the right balance, and allocated just enough time to research so that you were comfortable and confident making the decision.

However it worked for you, please let me know how it went, in the comments below.

Striking the right balance in life is a continual process. It helps to share your experience and pick up tips along the way.

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