Purpose

We all struggle in life. Some of us have extremely trying physical challenges while others have issues with their family or friends. Our burdens are far ranging and can weigh us down to the point where we feel like there is no hope for us.

I've experienced a few things in my life that I would consider as burdens, but through all of them I've found only way to carry on. You have to find a purpose for your life, find something to work towards. It doesn't need to be anything large. For me I have some broad goals I'm constantly working on like marrying in the Temple and graduating from college. But, life can't only be about the long term goals. To find happiness and feel like we have a sense of purpose in this life we need to always be pushing ourselves to find that one little thing that gives us meaning. We can have something in mind for the month, the week, or even something day by day. 

When my parents got divorced the idea of a family was somewhat of a joke. We were going back and forth between houses daily and it was really wearing on me. My purpose during that time of my life became my siblings. Being the oldest I felt I had a responsibility to help them through this trial. It brought me so much closer to them than anything else would have. In some ways I am grateful that I suffered through that because I cherish my siblings now. 

Jayden and Emily

John

Josh

Ashley

My advice is start small. The smaller the better. Then work your way up. Need some ideas? Try to make someones day better after talking to you, finish a reading assignment by a certain time, make yourself a really good dinner, or make yourself your favorite treat, read a talk that you loved from conference, or just try to make somebody laugh.

A word of caution. Don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get done what you want to accomplish. It's good to have goals, but if they are stressing you out or making you feel worse about yourself then you need to re-evaluate and simplify. 

The small and simple things are what bring us the most happiness.