We send our children to school as six-year-olds in order to prepare them for life as 18-year-olds and beyond. What we rarely consider is that the person we are twelve years later, especially when we are children, is so changed that we are hardly the same person . . . and the world is hardly the same world. Much of what we teach is therefore rendered useless by this slow-motion transformation. There is no way to predict what will prepare them for their future that awaits them and what will have been an utter waste of time.
What would happen if we understood education not as preparation for anything, but rather as a time and place in which children are supported in the practice of living lives of purpose as they are right now? Finding their life's purpose is the single greatest guarantee of a driven and joyful life.
Living life to its fullest means living your calling – whole-heartedly, joyfully, and purposefully. It means reaching your full potential, living from your heart, fully present and engaged, resilient in hard times, and free to be yourself. What it is not, is living life on the fly, on a whim, doing whatever feels good at the time. To live life fully alive is to live intentionally according to your calling.
Whenever I meet someone who is full of joy and flourishing in life, they are invariably the people who have identified their purpose. They aren't the ones living from paycheck to paycheck, disappointed with work and their lives. They are alive with life. And the world needs more people who know how to come alive.
How do we keep the joy alive and well in our children throughout their lives? By focusing on finding their calling.
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