One great benefit to having a strong and clear purpose statement is knowing what everything you put your hands on or mind to, should be based on. Another advantage to having a clearly defined purpose statement is the ability to know what to say yes to and what to say no to. Throughout my life, I built a portfolio of skills and abilities for the purpose of replacing the lack of validation in my life. That portfolio was great early on, but became a noose around my neck later, giving way to distraction after distraction, not knowing the difference between the good things I should be pursuing versus the best things. The truth is, we can’t do everything. We can usually do only a few things well, and without clear focus, none of what we do will be any good to anyone. Our identity is not tied to what others think about us, but to what God thinks about us. God’s love for us is not reliant on our abilities or talents. Who we are is a product of our past experiences, values, beliefs, personality, strengths, and spiritual gifts. Having a purpose statement is like having a gate that you can filter every opportunity through before committing yourself to any specific one. Before I commit to things nowadays, I ask the question “does this opportunity align with my purpose statement?” If it does, it is worth considering committing to. If it does not, or it is not clear how it aligns, my answer can be no or not now. Saying no to something you are proficient in doesn’t mean you are abandoning it completely. It means you are intentionally making choices that are focused, meaningful, and on purpose.
Regardless of a person’s perspective about one’s purpose, having it written down in front of you shifts that perspective of who you have been or who you might become one day. The purpose statement forces a person to see themselves in the present, and to question who they are from their past experiences, values, beliefs, personality, strengths, and spiritual gifts. The past isn’t something that one should try to forget or romanticize about, but part of their growth and story. And what about the future? What a person will become sometime in the future is solely dependent on who they are today and the choices they choose to make, with the realization of that dream or purpose in front of them.