You Just Have to Do it on Purpose!

Who doesn’t love a Dolly Parton quote? Maya lives in Tennessee, is a HUGE Dolly Parton fan, so I included these words in the book I created for her. It takes guts to be an original version of yourself, which first means you have to find out who you are and more importantly who you want to become.

Find out who you are and
do it on purpose!

– Dolly Parton

Remember being eighteen and navigating the process of becoming YOU? If you look back on the young person you were back then, chances are you would never have imagined the person you are today. It is a gift to not know everything that is going to happen in our lives. It is an adventure on purpose. If we had a list of all our adventures, mistakes, problems, relationship fumbles, career moves and foibles, and even all the stuff we bought and sold and move around and repurposed – whew! There would be a lot to face and process! It would be overwhelming, daunting, and mind blowing. Hence, no outline or storyline we have to follow as we become ourselves.

That’s a great thing! No strict path to follow, no ingrained road we cannot deviate from, and nothing but options and choices to let us choose who we want to be today and tomorrow. Good news is YOU get to choose everyday who you want to be. Bad news is YOU have to deal with the consequences and fall out from your poor choices and misspoken words. Life is about navigating the ups and the downs, no matter what.

I love that Dolly Parton not only tells us to find out who we are…she adds to do it on purpose. FIND OUT if you really like asparagus, or beets, or your steak well done. Maybe you want to be vegan, vegetarian, or only drink water. Maybe you like teaching, or learning, talking or reading. Maybe you love the outdoors or prefer to sit inside and play video games. Maybe you don’t have a clue what you like to do…so go find out…and do it on purpose. Try things, fail, try something else, and know that there is no wrong answer even if it means you will be different than everyone else in your family or on your neighborhood block.

The important thing is to build the life YOU WANT, not the one your Mother or Grandmother or Aunt tells you to live, or the life they expect you to live. Just because they did it one way does not mean you have to follow that path or are stuck in that mold. Be intentional in finding out who you are and choose to be that person everyday. There is nothing more sad than to look in the mirror at thirty, or forty or even eighty and not like the person you have become. Good news it, no matter how old you are you can change your ways…you just have to do it on purpose!