Not knowing what you want to do with your life or whether you are on the right path can be stressful. In my late teens and early twenties I used to regularly enter into mental loops of anxiety around the pressure of trying to figure out career and life choices. What did I want to do with my life? The decision seemed unbearably large. Stunted by anxiety around making the right choice, I would make no choice at all or go with what felt logically correct. How do I make such a choice? A choice that will influence the rest of my life, AND I had no guidance!
The questions loomed like a lingering grey cloud over my head, which made it hard to gain any kind of clarity. There is often a great deal of pressure, be it from our families, our colleagues, our culture, or, most potently, from ourselves to choose a perfect career path. It occurred to me that I was not the only one experiencing the stress and anxiety of trying to find my life’s path and that there were no great resources available to help guide people in the process.
Through many years of self-exploration and education I can say that I have found my true north and part of my life’s purpose is to help others also find their true north and fulfill their full potential.
If you feel like you have been headed in the wrong direction don’t beat yourself up about it. There is no wrong direction. Life is a series of experiences. We learn from every experience, those deemed failures and those deemed successes. They are a part of who we are. There can be serendipity in life choices that didn’t feel right in the moment but end up being beneficial in the future in ways we couldn’t begin to imagine. For example, having to take an extra semester in school, which in the moment may be frustrating, but if it wasn’t for that semester you may have never met your future co-founder or learn to multitask through working at a restaurant. As Steve Jobs said, “You can only connect the dots looking backwards and not looking forwards.” Trust in your path.
Some people find one job they love and stick with it for life. Others may have multiple meaningful jobs. The key is to gain a deep understanding of your unique internal blueprint and the direction that is most congruent for you. Once you have identified the foundation of who you are, you can use this as a framework that can always be amended and revisited. In fact it is important to reevaluate your life from time to time.
Some factors to explore in finding your life’s path are: What do you value? What are both your hard and soft skills? What makes you feel engaged and driven, passionate? What is your leadership and personality style? What is the best company/team culture for you? Click HERE for more resources.
Living in alignment with who you are will give you a greater sense of fulfillment and happiness. It will not only impact you personally, but it will impact those around you as well — including friends, family, coworkers and even strangers. The side effects include greater productivity and accomplishments and a sense of meaning in your life.
I am currently writing a journal to help individuals, such as you, identify what careers are in alignment with their unique blueprint. As my gift to you please enjoy this newly written and recorded visualization on finding your passion. Hopefully it will get you off to a good start!
