Purpose: 1. The object towards which one strives or for which something exists; an aim or a goal. 4. The matter at hand; the point at issue.
The American Heritage College Dictionary; Third Edition
This weekend my wife and I decided to go for a walk but were not sure exactly where to go. We settled on a stroll through the mall, which under most circumstances would have been painful for me, but I'm working on my patience so I agreed. It's amazing what your senses are able to take in when you're not really focused on anything. I'm sure the mall has always been under siege by teenagers with nothing else to do, and I'm sure I was one of them at some point, but wow have times changed. What I observed was eerily similar to a bowling ball slowly making its way down the lane hitting bumper pads along the way to avoid a gutter. Of course the ball eventually finds a pin, just like the kids found a deal, but neither would admit that it certainly helped to be guided along the way. These kids bounced around from store to store with no clear sense of direction or purpose. I decided to look up the word purpose in the dictionary and share two of its meanings with you. Majority of the youth I observed clearly had no goal in mind and definitely did not convey to me that there was any matter at hand worth attending to. Of course I immediately went to my own place of thought and wondered if my professional sphere is any different. I've observed on many occasions my peers in the classroom and in the workplace wandering aimlessly through the halls. Worse yet, I have friends to this day that are wandering aimlessly through life. I wondered if I had become a bumper pad for their journey and protected them from the occasionally painful but sometimes necessary gutter. How had my behavior unintentionally encouraged them to embrace a purposeless life? I guess when I point the finger at myself, I was certainly in no position to be making fun of the kids in the mall. Funny how things aren't so funny when you identify yourself as a source of the problem.
My challenge to you this week is simple. During the work day I would like for you to walk with a purpose. When you get up from your chair after reading this email, declare from that moment on that you will only remove your rear from the seat if you have a specific matter at hand to attend to. Walk tall, shoulders back, mind sharp, and eyes focused. Let the world around you know that aside from lunch or an occasional break, you are on a mission. Let your body language suggest that you are indeed progressing toward a goal and the matter at hand is of importance. Don't participate in aimless wandering or pointless strolls. This week it’s about the physical act of walking. Next week you may want to challenge your mind the same way. Aimless thinking is just as bad, if not worse, than aimless walking. Perhaps our frustration with kids in the mall isn't that they overtake the isles with their aimless strolls, but with the fact that it conflicts with when we take ours.
Alonzo M Kelly
President
Milwaukee Urban League Young Professionals
