What Are You Here For?

‘I am here to make money, you are here to get fit.’

That’s what my aqua aerobics instructor said to the group at the start of a class. She reminded us to pay attention to get the best out of the class.

I found that I couldn’t get away from what she initially said, so I pondered it some more.

She was there to do a job and get paid. She prepares to do an effective job but this translates to nothing unless her students are as committed as she is, bearing in mind the different reasons we have to be there.

This got me thinking about the importance of ‘Purpose and Individual responsibilities’.

It dawned on me that it was up to me to get the best out of each session and to do that, I had to stay focused on why I was there.

I can choose to chat during the class and the instructor still gets paid. If I don’t pay attention and I miss some instructions, she still gets paid. If I don’t get the health benefits of taking her classes, she still gets paid.

So what does that tell me? It tells me she is accomplishing her goal by fulfilling her purpose and I need to take a step back to check that I am also doing the right things that will get me my desired results.

Simply put, I need to answer the question, ‘what am I here for?’

We all need to ask and answer that question, ‘what am I here for?’

What are you on earth for? What are you in that workplace or Business for? What are you in your neighbourhood for? What are you in that relationship for? What are you in that College for?

When we ask and answer these questions, there is a good chance that we may need to make some changes to make sure we accomplish the real reasons why we are here.

Asking this simple question during my class took my focus and determination to a higher level. I was more mindful of my actions.

I was reminded that I had to keep my eyes on the ball and remember that we all have different reasons for being in any given place.

Here are some considerations and actions:

Figure out why you are here

‘Here’ can refer to any thing, place or purpose. What are you there for? Write this down and ponder on it.

For me I was in that class to get fit so the next question then becomes, ‘am I accomplishing my goal for being there?’ Am I fulfilling purpose? Are you fulfilling your purpose?

Collective or individual responsibility

Once you know what you are there for, a good point to consider is whether or not everyone is there for the same reason and equally committed.

There is a good chance that everyone has a different reason for being there and if that’s the case, your actions and responses can’t be the same as everyone else’s. Consider if you need to take individual responsibility or take part in a collective responsibility.

Work out the actions you need to take and take them

There may be actions you need to take to fulfil your purpose or reason for being there.

You need to figure why you are where you are and have that clarity to move forward. It may be that you realise you need to take more ownership of your actions or change course completely.

Never lose sight of why you are there

We can’t afford to lose sight of our purpose in life and our purposes in whatever we find to do or wherever we find ourselves. The moment you lose sight of ‘purpose’ you are subject to abuse or misuse.

If I forget I am there to get fit, then I will easily get distracted and miss the mark. Same applies in life, if you forget why you exist, you will be distracted by everything around you. So, keep your eyes on the ball.

Thank you for reading, commenting, and sharing my weekly posts. See you next week.