It’s time to wake up and pursue your purpose.

Last year, I was listening to a Bible teacher who asked: “Are you farming your children out for someone else to raise?” Whew! That question was just one part of a life-changing, wake-up call for me.

My husband and I had been led by the Lord to adopt in November 2014 and started the journey toward that goal. Our two boys were placed in our home in December 2015, and the adoption was official seven months later. Our lives were changed completely by this process. I knew deep down I wasn’t living and giving my best to this new life. My commitments were competing, and my purpose had changed …

What do you do when this happens?

Thankfully, I had two coaches who worked with me on my commitments to my professional calling and my personal life. I needed to find a way to bring these two seemingly divergent commitments into harmony, and through coaching, I did just that. Coaching was the vehicle that helped me get from where I was to my new destination.

Though my story includes a transformative life event, the discovery of your purpose may not. Living out your purpose comes by proactively seeking truths in your life that point to your central aim. You’ll do this through determining your values, spelling out commitments, setting action steps toward those goals, using self observation, and being willing to try “safe-to-fail” experiments.

The work is worth it!

It does take work to discover your purpose and then to live it out. If you are a Christian, you have additional resources at your fingertips: Reading your Bible is a great first step, and prayer is another critical component. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight and wisdom. As James 1:5 says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”