There are moments in life when the world slows down just enough for questions to slip in. In those moments, have you ever asked yourself the following questions: What am I doing with my life? What is my purpose? Am I following my dreams and passions? If you answered yes, then sit back with your favorite beverage and let me introduce myself, as we may become friends!  

My name is Ronda and I have a lot of questions, especially when it comes to not just living your best life, but thriving in this journey. (Some days I would even call it a rollercoaster!) But, I digress.  What is thriving and how do I know if I am achieving it? Courtesy of google and Cambridge English Dictionary, thriving is: growing, developing, or being successful.

Do you feel you are thriving in your passion?

Are you thriving in self-awareness and emotional intelligence, self-discovery and perspective in feeling successful in life (if this is how you chose to value thriving in your own life)?

Are you thriving in who you are and want to be, as well as navigating decisions and choices in the direction you want to go?

Are you following your passions?

These questions are not always prompted by a dip in your rollercoaster. Sometimes they are sparked by a quiet Sunday afternoon, a long walk, or the sudden realization that your daily grind doesn’t quite light you up like it used to, or ever really did. The drive to finding your purpose can be exhilarating… or exhausting! I like to think that we approach thriving, or our purpose, like a high-pressure scavenger hunt—frantically searching for clues, terrified we’ll never find “the big answer”. But our purpose is rarely a single treasure you uncover once and for all. It’s more like a garden you tend, season after season. Additionally, thriving isn’t about having the perfect garden—it’s about nurturing what’s there and watching it grow in its own time. This is where patience plays a huge role, and if your middle name is adrenaline, like mine, you may need to practice this more than others.

We go through seasons in our life that also equate to the seasons of our garden! In each season we have the potential and/or ability to question what our purpose and passions are. In the season of childhood and the teenage years, you are navigating physical and cognitive development. Figuring out who your “friends” are by building and growing your social and emotional development. You are managing emotions and establishing that sense of self. As you grow into yourself as an adult, you are continuing to build on that social emotional development while also “adulting!" Adulting includes career, financials, boundaries (physically and mentally), along with navigating your personal growth and well-being! If that isn’t a rollercoaster season, I don’t know what is!

I was recently listening to Simon Sinek, where he stated: “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” Which then made me add that question to my “seasonal” questions.  Am I stressed or passionate in what I am currently doing? Am I stressed or passionate about the season I am in currently? What can I do to change my perspective from being stressed to passionate?

Now, I am not going to proclaim that you or I consistently stand in the lane of “stressed” or “passionate” without occasionally throwing on our blinker to change lanes throughout our seasons or daily tasks. But I do challenge you to question what you can do to change your mindset from stressed to passionate. I, personally, am very passionate when it comes to education, learning, understanding, and developing myself to become a positive role model, enlightening educator, and a contributing member of beneficial constructive relationships. While those passions can be powerful forces for good in our lives, helping to lead us to a sense of purpose, enjoyment, and even professional success, it’s also important to ensure that pursuing your passion doesn’t become a source of stress and burnout.

I challenge you to write down what fills your cup. What passions and interests do you have? When you think of thriving in your seasons, what do you see yourself doing and/or being? Post them somewhere you see them on a daily basis, whether that is one your bathroom mirror, on your fridge, in your car or at work.

Keep yourself accountable for staying grounded in who and what you want to be and continue to become. You can do this by checking IN, not checking off. Instead of a to-do list for your passion, try a “to-feel” list. How do you want your creativity or purpose-seeking to feel today—calm, curious, joyful? Let that guide your actions.

Leave space—inspiration often sneaks in when there’s room for it! Don’t fill every free moment; boredom can be a breeding ground for fresh ideas and unexpected ways to thrive. Again, this is hard for us that love excitement, but we need to learn to balance the high of the rollercoaster with the low. The “lows” can be thinking, processing, and enhancing what is already been our foundation. These “lows” can be instrumental in grounding us.

Make sure to create a strong thriving foundation of yourself by prioritizing self-care and letting go of things that no longer serve you--whether it be relationships, expectations (yours or others), or unhealthy habits.

Hold it lightly—purpose isn’t fragile, but our grip on it can be. If your current direction doesn’t feel right, it’s okay to pivot. Thriving often means adapting, not forcing yourself into a path that no longer fits.

You owe it to yourself to thrive in this one life that we have and that can be taken away at any moment! You don’t have to have your life’s mission statement printed and framed to live a meaningful, thriving life. You can fill your days with purpose and passion now—without rushing, without comparison, and without turning joy into a job.

Sometimes the most profound answer to “What is my purpose?” is simply:

To be fully alive in this moment, to thrive here, and to let that aliveness be a current outward.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Contact me: 
rpennekamp@rwhc.com
608-644-3232

Ronda Pennekamp, RN, BSN, is the Nursing Clinical Development Educator at the Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative. Ronda infuses energy and enthusiasm into every aspect of her work with the RWHC team. With Bachelor’s degrees in both Education and Nursing, she brings a unique blend of knowledge and nursing hands-on experience in rural healthcare. Ronda’s passion for learning, growth, and encouraging others to embrace new challenges shines through in every workshop she leads, as well as every interaction she participates in. Her engaging, dynamic and approachable style, paired with her “teaching-first” mindset, creates an inspiring environment where participants feel empowered to grow and succeed.