A close friend of mine was really struggling with her peers at work.  For reasons she could not fathom, she seemed to be constantly rubbing these people up the wrong way.  It was a recent occurrence – one she did not know what to do about.

On top of that, she had overheard a really negative (and totally untrue) remark about her work ethic floating around the office and didn’t quite understand why people would think this.

It also happened to be that around this time she was also going through some very personal stresses, including a bit of struggle with getting her young son to listen to her.

She was pretty upset.  After all, who can be happy under such circumstances?

Have you ever known anybody who has been in a similar way?

If so, did you ever think over what would be needed to change this?

One of the steps my friend took fast was to find out how to know who her true friends were.

After all, a true friend would tell you what you were doing that was causing upset wouldn’t they?

Your friend would have your back, right?  They wouldn’t stand for some horrible rumour flying around about you.

But what does this have to do with knowing the purpose of life?

It is fair to say that my friend is not alone in the sense that her situation was peppered with common challenges in life so many of us have had to face – or will face – at some point.

When you understand the purpose for something, it is easier to take control of at least a part of that something, wouldn’t you agree?

Have you ever met a child who wanted to brush their teeth morning and night because they naturally understood that it needed to be done?

Probably not.  Without the purpose understood, it is probably really tough to get a kid to march themselves off to the bathroom and put that toothbrush, with toothpaste the size of a pea, into their mouth freely and take care of their teeth.

Why would they when there is no understanding of the importance?  In all likelihood it is more important to the kid to keep playing with their toys or climb a tree outside.  Those activities have the purpose of pleasure behind them.  There is no pleasure in a toothbrush.

When the purpose is put there and understood it becomes a different story.  It becomes something they can take steps to control and prevent any damage from occurring.  They will be able to preserve their teeth, their appearance and who knows how many thousands of dollars in dental bills.

There are many facets to your life. You may find it quite a challenge at times to keep up with the day to day demands, let alone think about how to ensure your future and the future of your loved ones.

You probably, deep down, want to though.  You probably really care about what happens to those around you, what happens to yourself if for no other reason than it will affect the happiness of those around you.

To get an edge on life you need to have its true purpose understood.  You really do.

You also need to know what steps you can take to simply and kindly, “slay the dragons” you encounter in all situations in life.

With the dragons gone, your path is clear to take you wherever you want it to go.