We live in a society that is driven by the white picket fence, fairytale, happy-ever-after mentality that is painted in movies, books and across media. The reality of this is that it’s not always meant to be happily ever after.

We meet people and enter into relationships for love or business and we immediately begin fantasizing about this being the ONE.

The one to save us.

The one to change us.

The one to make us financially free.

The one to have and hold for life.

We have visions of how that person or venture is going to fulfill our dreams, make us whole or be everything we had hoped for.

But what if we changed our perspective a bit. What if, instead of getting caught up in the fantasy land of our mind, we looked at every person, relationship, partnership, venture or meeting as an assignment of sorts. When we do this, a shift occurs.

We no longer find ourselves getting so wrapped up in futuristic thinking and we can allow ourselves to focus on the present moment. What faces us today is there to shape, inspire, push, change or redirect us. When we take away the piece of our mind that wants to tell us “this is it,” we flip the script to “what is it?”

What am I supposed to learn?

What am I supposed to teach?

What am I supposed to see?

What is this in my life for?

These missions of life aren’t always easy. It takes courage, bravery and a strong faith to see that each event, person, endeavor, relationship, situation or circumstance is a divine intersection of our life path. They were hand picked and put there as building blocks to our souls. Here is what I’ve found to be true about accepting our assignments in life.

View everything as an assignment and do your best to find the meaning behind all meetings.

Make it the mission to figure out the bigger picture. Instead of seeing things as the end-all-be-all of life, allow the space to see things as mini-projects, some bigger than others. Some assignments are meant to last a lifetime, while others are just there for a season. When our point of view moves into assignment mode, we are looking for lessons. This helps us to always remain humbled and optimistic in the fact that life is one great adventure full of changing scenes, ups and downs, highs and lows. While we may not always like the assignment, our job is to just show up and do the work. Let the outcome be a reflection of the amount of blood, sweat and tears we poured into our work.

Everyone is a teacher.

We each have our own set of unique characteristics, flaws and quirkiness. There is not one person on this earth that is or ever will be exactly like you. Think about that for a minute. What you bring to the table serves others. What others have to serve you is equally important. If we can view everyone as a teacher to help facilitate some of our homework, we never miss an opportunity to learn and grow. Bring forth what you have to offer and dish it out generously. What we see in others is often a reflection of something inside of us. This includes things that we find frustrating or irritating. You spot it, you got it is the saying I believe. Most of the time what attracts us to others are qualities we desire or share in. Reflect to others and let them reflect back to you.

Always leave people better off than you found them.

Do your best to lift people up. Show them kindness and be compassionate. We’re all fighting our own battles and no one is struggle or demon free. When we check our egos and judgments at the door, it allows us to see things for what they really are. Treat others with integrity, be honest and do your best to shine your light in the lives of others. Our goal should always be to help others see themselves as we see them. They say, people won’t always remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. Let it be our mission to bring feelings of happiness, joy and enlightenment every step of the way, every touch we encounter and every soul we have the privilege of seeing. You never know when you just might be the only light they have. Shine it brightly. Help light their way even if you won’t always be traveling next to them.

Not everyone is meant to stay in our story.

Ah yes, the hardest part of accepting our assignments. Not all things assigned to us are meant to stay with us. Sometimes the assignment comes, serves its purpose and then the real assignment comes in the form of letting it go. The trick is to know when the work has been completed and it’s time to move forward. Sometimes people pass through our lives to help us learn lessons that can only be learned if they do not stay. The magic of assignments is that with each new one also comes a new beginning. Always remember to see the beauty in this.

Lastly, stand by your work.

Own that shit. Your decisions create your masterpiece of life one assignment at a time. They are a co-mingled design of yes’s, no’s and maybe so’s that interlace to make us who we are. We can let go of regrets and failures because as long as we are learning, we are working on our assignments. Let’s stand by our life assignments, see them through and proudly collect them into our life portfolio. That’s the beauty of viewing things in this manner. It gives us the freedom to master our craft with each mission we complete.

This simple change in perspective has been so instrumental in my own personal development. When we move from viewing everything as permanent, it lifts some of the expectations away that we tend to pair with something of permanence. That doesn’t mean everything is temporary, but what it does mean is that life is constantly moving and shifting. We’ve got to learn to adapt if we want to successfully face obstacles, challenges and forks in the road.

Our ultimate goal in life should be to love as much as we can whether that be extended to a person, ourselves or to our commitments. Life is a series of assignments designed by God to help us be and love bigger, if we choose to accept them as such. When we view everything in our life as an assignment it takes the pressure off. The only pressure we should feel lies in the question of if we are ready, willing and able to rise to the occasion and become the master of our work, which, in turn, leads to mastery of oneself.

“Our most vital life lessons are learned through relationships and experiences. Strive to be a brilliant, yet humble, student and teacher.” – Unknown