You Did That On Purpose!

There’s a saying that makes its way into my household every once in a while that I cannot stand! One of my children will end up yelling this inflammatory sentence at their brother or sister (because of something was "done" to them), sending the accused running to Mom or Dad for help. “You did that on purpose”, is a real negative thing to assume about the other person and we try our best to reassure that no, they did NOT do that evil thing on purpose; it was an accident and so on. All the while hoping that it was true. That it indeed was an accident.
If we can, as children and adults, be accused of doing something on purpose to hurt why not turn this phrase around and use it for good, for someone else’s good. Webster’s defines purpose as aim, end, plan, intention, determined resolute. Now, before you start saying to yourself, he’s going to talk about New Year resolutions, hear me out! I abhor New Year resolutions about as much as the next person but I want to make a different point here. Doing something good on purpose takes planning but most of all it takes stepping outside yourself and looking for what someone else needs. Resolutions are mostly self-related, personal goals: stop smoking, lose weight, save money... Doing something on purpose for someone else is self-LESS.
If you’re going to make a resolution this year (hopefully by the time you read this you haven’t failed yet another round of resolutions!), do it with purpose and for someone else! Someone once said, “History is willing to overlook almost anything – errors, paradoxes, personal weaknesses or faults – if only a man will give enough of himself to others.” Make this year’s, gulp, resolution one that will benefit someone else and who knows we might end succeeding for once. Also, in a good way, someone might call after you and say, “You did that on purpose!”