Do you ever wonder why you’re here? What you’re purpose is and how you should be living your life? Wondering how to find happiness?

I think that one of the best ways to at least start on the path to discovering those things is to examine yourself and your life and determine what your gifts are. When I think of gifts a person has, I think of what identifies that person, what defines who they are, what stands out about them? Are they a person who just loves to make people laugh? Or are they a person who is a fantastic speaker or writer and can touch people through those mediums? Good at athletics or just very intelligent and great in conversation? Some are just fabulous parents. Others love design, aesthetics and find happiness in making things around them beautiful. Maybe a person is gifted with artistic ability and creativity. Whatever it is, everyone has gifts.

When you look inside yourself and think of the things that drive you, excite you when you get to do them, make you feel whole when they are part of your life, that is what I would call a gift. When you can embrace your gifts and live your life through their uniqueness, then you can begin to really find your inner happiness. You can begin to find comfort in who you are because you’re not trying to be something someone else is. Finding your strength in just knowing who you are, knowing what your reason is for being here and spending everyday fulfilling that purpose as much as you can is a great start down that path to inner peace and happiness.

I have been trying to find out who I am and what my purpose is and making changes accordingly. If I look inside myself and think of what my gifts are, it makes it much easier to embrace and live out the things that mean a whole lot to me. Along that same line, it makes it easier to stop doing things that don’t fulfill what I believe myself to be and what I want my purpose to be. My life, day in and day out has to be me living with purpose. From every dollar I spend having a purpose, to every moment with my kids, to every time I have a free moment, I want it all to be the most full it can be. I also want to make sure I am living out the uniqueness of my gifts. I love decorating. I also love a simple, clutter-free home to feel comfortable in. Those two things mean a lot in my life. It’s part of who I am and so my time goes into those things. I also enjoy writing. I won’t go overboard and call myself a writer, just a blogger. I enjoy it very much and the sense of purpose it brings to my life, the way it makes me think more about myself and the way it brings new ideas into my world each day. I am a runner. When I run, I feel relaxed and at ease and natural. It’s easier once I have pinpointed things that I define myself as to better use my time living out who I am and not cluttering my time with things that don’t add to my life.

Above all else, my family is my purpose. I am a wife, mother, daughter, and sister. I know not all women feel that motherhood is their ultimate purpose in life. I don’t know that it is for me either, but at this stage of my life, it absolutely is. I don’t have much more than my kids that drives me right now. As they grow older and need me less (sniff sniff) I am sure that my priorities and purpose will change. For today, I just have to live out who I am and that means being the best mother and wife that I can be.

I have to say, it feels good, and I feel very lucky to have found what I deem to be my own inner peace. It takes time to dig deep within yourself to find that, but once I did, it was so worth it. Waking up each day with goals and dreams and knowing if I just keep staying true to myself, I will get there is deeply satisfying and motivating.