God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.  Use them well to serve one another.  Do you have the gift of speaking?  Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.  Do you have the gift of helping others?  Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.  Then everything you do will bring glory to God…” (1 Peter 4: 10-11, NLT).

Whether it’s coaching little league baseball, designing a home, or curating a Michelangelo exhibit at the Louvre, there remains an undeniable peace and sense of fulfillment from performing a task so naturally and effortlessly, it feels as if it were designed expressly for you.  This place is called purpose, destiny…your divine design: living life in your sweet spot.

While certainly not the first of its kind, Rick Warren’s The Purpose Driven Life ignited a flame of wildfire-like proportions in the hearts of those endeavoring to experience life in that sweet spot.  For many of those burning hearts, over 30 million to be exact, Warren’s book was their Kingdom Come! Why then, almost 10 years after its debut, are so many of us still tossing and turning, restlessly searching for the answer to the book’s subtitle: WHAT ON EARTH AM I HERE FOR?

While simplistic in theory, rediscovering our innate talents and abilities often proves to be anything but.   After years of cultural conditioning, our natural free spirits become weighted under the tomb of societal norms and we slowly and unconsciously lose our sense of self.  It usually isn’t until we have a degree or two in tow, have worked years in a job that doesn’t suit us and become frustrated that we realize, “oh no!  I grabbed the wrong bag!  This isn’t my suitcase…these aren’t my clothes!  THIS ISN’T MY LIFE!”  By this time, many have major financial and familial obligations.  Although we’re living out of someone else’s suitcase, we conclude that there is too much at stake to make a move now, and thus, we settle.

In his book, Cure for the Common Life, Max Lucado suggests that the key to living in your sweet spot is finding work that “honors God, helps others, and thrills you”.  I tend to agree with that assessment and strongly believe that if your daily work demonstrates these three attributes, you have achieved the noblest vocation.  Acclaimed author and career authority Dan Miller often says, “It’s not a ‘risk’ if it fits you.”  If that is true then, why stop after the discovery of your passion?  Take the leap of faith required to live life extraordinarily.  Why settle for a generic “off the rack” life when God has promised a life “tailor made” for you alone?  Selah.