How Do You Know If You're Living Mission Possible? Five Questions to Ask Yourself

How do you know if you’re living a mission possible life?

I love this question. It’s so good! The reason I like it is because whoever is asking this means they’re serious about wanting to live Mission Possible. It means they want to make their life count…the right way! And as we navigate mission living, we all need checkpoints to make sure we’re on track and heading in the direction we want to go. So here are just a few ways (5 to be exact) to know whether or not you’re living Mission Possible.

1. Are You Living by Convictions?

I like how David Jeremiah defined conviction: “a fixed belief, a deeply held set of certainties that lodges in the center of your mind and heart.”

Convictions aren’t merely opinions. They are set guardrails. They don’t change based on your mood or how your kids behave on a certain day or what position you get on the team. Convictions are fixed, intentionally chosen, and honed throughout life. 

I have learned that convictions are stronger than emotions. Emotions can lie to you. Emotions will tell you in the morning when your alarm goes off that you’re too tired, that you didn’t get enough sleep (even when you did), that you deserve to snooze, and that you’ll get up early ‘tomorrow.’ But if you listen to your convictions, regardless of what your emotions feed you, you’ll be the first one up and ready to put in the work to make your life count. When you are faced with a choice, your convictions will propel you to do the right thing rather than react to what your feelings are telling you.  

One way to know if you’re living mission possible is 1. having a set of convictions and 2. making conscious choices to live by them. 

When emotions lead you to consider calling it quits, your convictions will remind you that you can push a little harder or go a little further to reach your goal.

2. Is the End Goal in Mind?

One person who has lived each day, with joy and grace, to fulfill his mission is my dad. His mission is to preach the gospel to every person in the Philippines. I’ll never forget how when I was growing up, I’d wake up, go to the breakfast table, and always see him reading his Bible and other study material. 

I believe his consistency and passion for his mission over the years has had the most impact on my life. Even in his older age and diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, he continues to move forward with the same consistency and passion.

You know why Dad is this way? 

It’s not because he is Superman or was born with extra reserves of energy or intestinal fortitude that most of us weren’t naturally blessed with. It’s because he keeps the end goal in mind! He invests himself into his mission and works hard at it because he knows the payoff in the end is worth it.

As you live out your mission, do you have an end goal? Have you thought about it? Are you motivated by its ultimate outcome?

Working hard is not the end goal; we work hard to get to the end goal.

3. What Are You Willing to Give Up?

One of the clearest ways to know if you’re living mission possible is whether you’re willing to make sacrifices.

Need not much explanation on this.

To live a life of significance – to make your life count – sacrifice is inevitable!

It’s a fixed numeral in the equation. Our lives may even be defined to some degree by the level of sacrifices we are willing to make. Rather than looking at sacrifice as a negative marker or something we feel tempted to resist, we should see it as something we ought to embrace. 

It may not be the most pleasing word. (For many of us, it suggests the need to give it all up or to give until it hurts.) But sacrifice has its benefits! Let me remind you that the Christian life is built on sacrifice. God gave His only Son so we can live with Him for eternity! His ultimate sacrifice is a daily reminder for how we should live.

the true meaning of sacrifice: giving up what you want now for what you want most.

4. Are You Pursuing Consistency?

I don’t know anyone who has accomplished a life of significance who did so overnight. 

Why is Tom Brady the G.O.A.T? Because he’s been to 10 Superbowls. And how was he able to get to 10 Superbowls? One word: consistency.

The dictionary defines the word consistency as “steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.” Essentially, consistency is pursuing the same choices over and over and over again. It’s heart + will + focused action.

Consistency leads to habits. Habits form the actions we take every day. Action produces results. Without consistency, it will be nearly impossible to live mission possible. 

Think about your mission. What are the tasks you need to do on a regular basis to make it happen? Don’t rush the process. It’s not about perfection. Consistency is a pursuit. And it happens gradually, one step, one choice, repeated over and over again. 

What Consistency Does: 

• Develops discipline and self-control
• Establishes a track record 
• Fast-tracks improvement 
• Creates personal responsibility
• Makes an individual dependable and trustworthy

5. Do You Transcend the Task?

The great reformer Martin Luther wrote, “The idea that service to God should have only to do with a church altar, singing, reading, sacrifice, and the like is without doubt but the worst trick of the devil…The whole world could abound with services to the Lord…not only in churches but also in the home, kitchen, workshop, and field.”

Living mission-possible has less to do with holding a religious vocation and more to do with developing an intimate relationship with Jesus. Luther understood this. Ministry is more than just work done by pastors. And ‘mission’ is not bound by the perceived significance of others. When God calls you to something – when He gives you a task to do – it should be seen as a royal endeavor.

Whatever you are tasked with —even what you may believe is the most trivial of duties or responsibilities —find a way to invite purpose into that space.

Do you teach? Do you take out the trash and fold laundry? Do you chauffeur your kids to practices and games? Do you lead a small group? Do you negotiate high-stake deals? Are you given a regular paycheck to do something you love or something you can’t stand? Do you have a side hustle? Are you learning a new trade?

Whatever you do, do it with all your might! You may not be happy with where you are, but God can still pull purpose through it. How do you know if you’re living mission possible? When you transcend the task!

When you begin to live beyond the surface of what you see, you begin to transcend the ordinary.

FIND YOUR MISSION & PURSUE YOUR PURPOSE: PRE-ORDER AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF MISSION POSSIBLE TODAY