Episode 22 -Living Your Purpose: Faith, Family, Legacy & Authentic Growth with Eileen Noyes
By Jessica Garrison
Eileen Noyes is a guest who connected with us through email, and her story as well as her work align with us so perfectly. She is a patient, flexible, and encouraging go-getter.
Eileen’s why and values are wrapped in 3 big things: honoring God, living out His purpose, and understanding the importance of legacy. She has 8 children of her own and her husband has 7 of his own, so legacy is very important to her. It’s about making sure that her children are growing up with everything they need to take on the world with the same compassion, drive, and awareness that Eileen has. The second part of her why is to honor God and whatever His purpose for her may be. She says that she used to have a shopping addiction, but it served no purpose for any of these values and was more about materialistic items than the experience. She doesn’t want to waste time on things that won’t matter in a few years or even a few weeks. Instead, she puts her effort towards these 3 things and the rest comes along with it. When you truly live out of your why and your values, everything else starts to make sense.
In terms of her expectations, Eileen thinks to herself, who am I really? I think this ties in beautifully with her values because if you are truly living out your values like Eileen is, then the expectations of others don’t affect you as much. Eileen is anchored in who she is, with a thick skin and forgiving heart, which are some of the best tools to bring with you on your journey. She says that we waste a lot of time defending ourselves when people become judgmental, but they will think what they want to think at the end of the day anyway. People will always have opinions, and you truly cannot please everyone, so what’s the sense in trying? The most important person is yourself because it’s your life, so you have to be the one who is happy with it.
Eileen says that we tend to look for evidence of what we’re thinking internally, which I couldn’t agree more with. For example, if you think someone at work hates you, then you subconsciously piece evidence together that proves the theory you made up in your head. Any tone they have might be received as harsh, even if they don’t mean it that way. So make sure the stories you are telling yourself are factual, and it’s better to err on the side of caution in your own mind when it starts being negative.
There’s a new appreciation Eileen has for life, becoming a healthier version of herself for her own needs and her children’s. It is a version that is genuinely authentic and takes care of herself in addition to others. This is a beautiful episode to showcase how much room there is to grow, even when you think you’ve got it all. Remember that there is a reason and a season for everything, so there’s always the chance to evolve.
Ways to Engage: Name 3 big things that are important to you that you can base your why and your values around like Eileen has. Is it family? Is it God? Is it a career path? Whatever they may be, remember them in decisions you make, big or small, and see how much richer your life becomes living out of your values every day.