how to find purpose in your life

why you have to do the thing

no one likes to be told what to do, but i’m telling you… you have to do the thing.

you know… that thing that won’t leave you alone. that thing that when you think about doing it, you get all sweaty and light up a little but then tell yourself all the 100 made up reasons in your head that you can’t do it, shouldn’t do it, everyone will make fun of you for it, etc.

i can rattle off all of these because i’ve said them to myself hundreds of times… but the fact still remains… you have to do the thing. because it’s not going to just magically leave you alone. it’s going to keep annoying the crap out of you until you get over the fear and take the leap.

here’s the thing you don’t understand about it… you don’t have to know why. you don’t have to know where it’s going. you don’t have to know what it looks like. you have to trust that the Author of this whole thing knows better than you do… but He can’t steer a parked car. so what you’re gonna have to first is move…

it doesn’t have to look good. it doesn’t have to be perfect. you don’t have to be ready. none of those things are qualifications for moving… you simply need to move.

do the thing. do it messy. scared. fearful. confused. doubts intact. feeling like you’re not good enough or cool enough or smart enough… whatever. your action will put all of those lies to bed. because this thing has been pestering you for so long, there are things that are bursting at the seams to happen…. waiting for you to just do one simple stupid little movement. then all the next steps can finally start falling into place… i bet they won’t wait long. they’re tired of waiting on you.

i do this with music still sometimes. i do this with my business. social media. whatever. i’ll be dreaming of something in a very “wouldn’t that be cool” kind of way, but before i can even get the good thoughts out of my brain, here comes Mrs Doubt throwing fire all over my dreams, convincing me to turn around and not take the action.

then i try to convince myself that i don’t know what to do. Chief Lie of All The Lies, right there. i always at least know of one small thing that i can do that moves the needle. we’re not looking for home runs here… although i’m pretty good at convincing myself that it’s a home run or bust… that’s just my competitive nature. you just have to move the needle. you just have to breathe a little life on the thing and the next steps will almost take care of themselves.

last thing that’s required is patience… but still taking action while practicing patience. sometimes the waiting is the hardest part, just like Tom Petty always told us, but the last thing you actually want to do is sit on your hands in these moments. an object in motion stays in motion and an object at rest stays at rest. if you had momentum going a little, don’t kill it. it took you long enough to move in the first place. don’t quit.

i’m telling you, even if the next action you see in your mind doesn’t seem to make sense, take it and find out. if it’s not 100 percent amazingly spot on, at least you’re still in motion and can pivot. isn’t it easier to turn something that’s already moving than something that’s completely sitting still? haven’t we been over this…?

anyway… these were just some quick thoughts i wanted to jot down and hit “send” before i forgot about them. i’m not ever writing these things with extra status of having figured anything out. these are always things i’m learning too. same as you. i’m just typing it instead of keeping it in my brain.

hope you’re having the best day, week, and month you could possibly be having.

♥, SF

whether they agree or not

January 9, 2025 by Sarah Faith

blog posts.

christian, christian blog, christian life, do hard things, following the inner nudge, how to change your life, how to find purpose in your life, how to live a peaceful life, how to show up, mental health, mental peace strategies, mindset, purpose driven, purpose driven life, self care, self-care for women

i’d say it’s about once a week that someone mentions something related to me “quitting” music… they ask me why, they ask about my business, why i’m doing that instead of music, mention how sad it is that i’m not performing music anymore, etc. etc. trust me. i feel it, too. i grieve it, too. ((shameless plug, did you know that i am actually still creating music…? i put a brand new song out in November called “saved by the blood – go check it out if you haven’t!)) ((i’ve decided the new direction / genre is called “swamp gospel” — i hope you can dig it!!))

and i guess i don’t really ever feel the need to explain, however, i do wonder if maybe there’s a chance to relate to you through this path i’ve been taking.

i don’t know if you’ve ever been doing something, only to find that maybe it wasn’t what it seemed like it was going to be on the surface when you started. or maybe you started going in a direction, it was good for a while, even great sometimes, but then something inside you just started tugging you another way. things change. if you’re from a place where seasons exist, you know that seasons change… and sometimes things need to be let go that you otherwise in a hundred years wouldn’t have dreamed of letting go of.

there’s also this crazy, silly analogy my husband uses about penguins. you have penguins and you have an island. you have an island full of penguins. at a certain point, the laws of math and geometry are going to kick in and there’s truly only room for so many penguins on said island. the others are left to either jump off willingly and go to their own island, or fall off… either way, all the penguins aren’t staying on that island. it’s just not possible.

for me, in this stage of life, i’ve only got room for so many penguins on my island. and maybe you’re in a season right now too where the stress level is really high, and what you really need is a long sit in a quiet room to ask yourself if all these penguins on this island really belong here… do they? do they all need to stay? or would you feel better, lighter, more purposeful if you let go of some of the penguins?

if possible, try to temporarily let go of all the feelings of failure and inadequacy you might experience in the “rehoming” of these penguins… maybe some are going to need to be permanently rehomed, while others are temporary! you don’t have to have it all figured out right this minute, but you do deserve to experience a higher level of peace… especially if you’re causing your own unrest by simply refusing to put something down.

music is a good thing. performing music is a good thing. being a musician is something i am so grateful for, it’s such a great thing. i love writing music, making music, performing music, sharing music… but i love so many other things that have been gifted to me by God’s grace, mercy, and kindness, and i’m on a mission to make sure i’m stewarding my time and my resources well. and we’re not all called in the same direction — that’s something i’ve had to come to terms with, too. it does me no good to compare what others are doing to what i’m being called to — they’re apples to oranges.

here’s another angle of perspective for you — if you’re feeling nudged to give something up that feels really big, and heavy, and weighty, and important… wouldn’t it make sense that whatever you’re being asked to give it up FOR is Bigger, Heavier, Weightier, and More Important? for a while, nothing seemed more important to me than making a career or myself in music… and my eyes opened wider, and something inside shifted… at first i didn’t quite know what to do with it… but as i took steps in fear, it became clearer and clearer. i don’t think i have the full spectrum of the picture, even still, but i do know that i’m in the right place, doing the right things.

i’ve got the same goals as before — love people, make things for people, help people… whether it’s through a song, a blog, a social media post, or a bottle of shampoo, i’m still doing it. and i’m so grateful to do so. i’m equally if not more grateful for the family i get to be a part of while i’m doing all of those things. nothing matters more to me on this earth than God, my husband, and my kids… and if there’s some version of necessary shift in me that’s required in the name of any of those three avenues, the benefits far outweigh the costs.

whatever situation you find yourself in, whatever compromise you’re feeling like you have to make… you’re going to make the right choice. you’re going to make the hard choice. and you’re going to realize that you made exactly the right choice. choices like this aren’t meant to be easy – if it was easy, there’d be no growth opportunity tied to it. things that are hard are the things that are calling you higher. i’d encourage you to lean into that.

and hey. i’m super serious about sitting alone for a long time in a quiet room. that step is not optional.

i celebrate the difficult decisions you’re making — there’s joy and freedom on the other side.

♥, SF

new year, better me

i saw this saying the other day somewhere in social media land and it resonated with me a whole lot. it’s not a new me. it’s a better me. a stronger me, a me with better habits, a more faithful me, a more grounded me, a more surrendered me… a clearer vision, more boldness, more prayer, and more action.

what does a new year do for you? does it make you anxious? excited? does it spring you into action or hold you in place? does it pump you up or grieve you? do you find yourself looking forward or backward?

pro tip – as much as it’s possible, try not to look back. you’re not headed there. you have to find a way to get a forward-oriented direction.

this year, God gave me the word “go” as my 2025 “theme” so to speak. i had it on my to-do list to make a vision board. honestly, i made one for the first time last year and i’m not sure i’ll do it again. i do have a master plan i will be creating that guides me monthly and quarterly, but i’m not sure about the vision board concept. i know that might sound weird – i know they say visualization is key. we’ll see if i create one or not — check back with me in a week or so and ask me if i ever ended up doing it. haha

i was on a call with my mastermind group and we were talking about words for the year — when it came to be my turn, i honestly didn’t feel like i had a word at first, but i was encouraged to just let the first word the came to mind, come forward and have weight. it was “go.” when i said it out loud, my mentor said, “yes, Sarah. the word i felt and heard for you was ‘execute’.” that’s what “go” means for me this year – this is the year i take bold action, bolder than before, more grounded, steadfast, rooted action. this is the year that i move, create, and trust that i’ve got everything i need to create the visions and dreams placed inside of me. i’m lacking nothing. i need no permission, special skills, or special abilities. i’ve got what i need and it’s time to go.

if it serves you to think that a new year must mean a new you, then by all means, go with that, but i would also love to encourage you to not feel the need to buy into that. you don’t have to be a new you. maybe you just need to be a more focused you, a more disciplined you, a you with better habits than last year, a you that doesn’t listen to fear or that inner critic as much. a you that gives up the excuses and does the dang thing. a you that doesn’t listen to the judgments and nay-saying of others as much. a you that doesn’t put stock in your limiting beliefs and those thoughts that keep holding you back. maybe you just need a better morning routine. maybe you just need better friends. maybe it’s better boundaries. nothing inherently new – just better. don’t put so much pressure on yourself to be this new shiny creation – you were fearfully and wonderfully made. no need to reinvent the wheel. maybe just a couple improvements here or there is all that’s in your way.

i don’t know if that helps you at all today, but i hope it does. i don’t know who it’s for… maybe it’s you. maybe you just need permission to shed the weight of the expectations, whether outer or inner, and just be free to still be you, and maybe your 2.0 version isn’t as heavy as you’re making it. maybe what actually needs to happen is less… less expectations, less self-judgment, less demand to live up to this proverbial hype… and permission to just be. be exactly what and who you were created to be, not what you think will satisfy some undefined standard this world told you to try and live up to.

i wish you the best in everything. happiness, love, life, family, fulfillment… and oftentimes we think that means we need more, when really, we actually need less. maybe less is more is truly what makes more better.

♥

me vs. me

i looked at the calendar this week and was shocked that it was the end of November already. i’m not sure how we got here… so close to 2025, yet still so many things i feel like i’d still love to accomplish this year.

maybe that’s you as well. maybe it’s been a long year, one that you can look back on and see that while a LOT of things happened, there’s still things left to tackle. and man, i really want to blame the circumstances. but i know that’s not really fair. or even true.

this isn’t the first time i’ve felt like this, and it probably won’t be the last. because the true issue is that it’s me vs. me. i’m the one that got in the way often times. i’ve got so many dreams, so many aspirations, so much drive… and sometimes, at the end of the day, i can honestly say that i’m not sure how to reach them because of two things: 1. i’m relying on myself, my own strength, and my own ideas too much and 2. i’m trusting in the actual possibility of these things happening too little.

bold statement: overthinking will kill your dreams. it will kill your motivation. it will just suck every ounce of energy you have if you let it. this is probably another one of my biggest opportunities for growth, although i will say that i’ve proven to myself time and time again that action is the way over this hurdle. even if it’s messy. even if it doesn’t make sense. there’s a certain kind of “magic” that happens when you’re putting energy out… it comes back around. stagnation breeds more stagnation, but action shakes things up. it’s like this saying that i’ve heard that has stuck with me for a couple years now: “God can’t steer a parked car.” there’s no specific direction in that statement. you just have to move. He can help you with the rest, but you do have to take some action. i do need to get out of my own head long enough to take a step forward. there’s always room to take a step sideways if you need to redirect, but if laws of inertia are true, motion is the first order of business. an object at rest will remain at rest.

maybe you’ve been here a while and you’ve heard me talking about self-care. this is another reason i think self-care is so dang important. especially this time of year. sometimes it may not connect that it has anything to do with anything else, but it DOES. you’re in motion. you’re moving. you’re thinking. you’re giving yourself space. doing a hair treatment or a skincare routine isn’t just about how my hair or skin look. it’s about my thoughts and giving myself that time to create space in there. this brain is so jam packed full of so much stuff on any given day, it’s like a dang circus. i need a minute to calm the monkeys and put out the fires. there’s magic to be found in that space! but you can’t get the space if you don’t make it. it’s too busy and crazy and chaotic of a life. and i don’t even have kids in this house all the time! so i really don’t know how the rest of you normal people do it.

easy things that help me create space:

gratitude + bible time in the morning
double washing my hair in the shower
morning and evening skincare routine
going for a walk
getting dressed in something i’d like to wear
taking a few extra minutes to fix my hair
turning on worship music

things that DO NOT CREATE SPACE

doing more things than i have the capacity for
scrolling more
thinking that the anxiety goes away by continuing to take on more
convincing myself there’s no time to take even 5 deep breaths
hyper focusing on my to-do list
equating my to-do list with success

notice how the things that create space are not really related to what we consider “progress” at all. they’re separate. they’re different. they’re kind of not even in the same neighborhood. but your brain needs it. trust me. your body needs it. trust me. it’s not the to-do list that’s going to give you peace. ever. i love getting things done, but not at the expense of my mood and physical well-being. though sometimes i forget this and work myself silly anyway… i’m working on this, too.

i guess what i’m saying is… taking these last 45 days of the year to put yourself on blast and guilt trip yourself for your failures isn’t going to create any kind of last minute progress. i don’t feel anyway… it’s certainly not a recipe for propelling you into a better 2025. what i would do is take some small actions day by day that get you in motion. i broke some promises to myself this year, too. some feel in my control, and some don’t. either way, all i can do is create the space and get the car moving. once there’s space to actually think, i think the direction becomes a lot clearer and kind of starts to take shape on its own.

i just gotta move first. because when i’m stagnant, it’s me vs. me.