Whether it’s a career crossroad or a mid-life quandary, the exploration of what we are built to do in our lifetime seems to be a question that rarely can be avoided. What people are surprised to find is that our purpose in life is something that we’ve already been doing or already are. In fact, it’s often something that has been both a blessing and a curse.
Think of the most essential part of who you are, how you are and what you do without even trying. It’s that thing that you do and that people have sought you out for. It’s that trait that you likely don’t even value because it is such a given in your life.
Maybe it’s that you naturally lead, even when you don’t want to. Or perhaps, it’s the way you are relied on in a crisis or how you influence people to take action that you don’t seek out but happens anyway. It may even be that compassion you have for people who have had it tough because you were dealt a similar hand and can relate to them. It may be a memory you’d rather forget, but you keep finding yourself in the same situation helping those that are going through something similar. By doing so, you have hit upon the reason why it happened to you.
For years, it was a drain on John that people always cornered him in his office to talk about personal things. Despite feeling useful when he supported people through tough times, he could not get his own work done, so he often found it frustrating to be needed in that way. As he thought about his looming retirement, it occurred to him that he might be able to turn his blessing/curse into a new career. He went back to school for counseling and started his own practice a year after he retired.
Whether your purpose becomes a career in itself or just a way to turn up the volume on your talents (and I guarantee, your satisfaction) it’s an exploration worth doing.
What’s your blessing/curse? It may not really have a curse to it, so just live it up in a bigger way and watch your life change.
Based on Chapter Five of “Now What? 90 Days to a New Life Direction” by Laura Berman Fortgang