I know my Purpose but “Now What?”

4 Life Stages Where You Can Use Your Purpose for Positive Impact.

The question of ‘Now What? “ is really important if you are on the journey of applying your purpose into the world and your life. Are you wanting to focus your work on your unique purpose and find career paths that align to your purpose? Are you focused on teaching your children their unique purpose and helping them to learn how it can impact their life decisions and choices, even at a young age? Are you a leader trying to find your unique style and leadership voice? Are you retired and thinking about how to spend your time in the right places, with the right organizations or interests that really align to your purpose? Do you just need to recognize how to make choices that serve you well and that make exponential differences in your impact on the world? That is possible when you know and live within your unique purpose with intention.

1. Your Career.

One quarter of the year will be spent working. Does your work bring you ease?....joy?....fulfillment?...Or will you spend one quarter of 2022 in frustration, stress, unease, and feeling unfulfilled? This is where I started the journey of finding meaning and purpose in my life – with my career. You can control your career by first identifying where and how you derive meaning. When combined toward a united effort, your values, your personality, your skills, your talents will bring you to work that is needed by others. When you identify your purpose – what you are so talented at that it brings ease and connects to your personal meaning - then you can find work that is in alignment with that meaning. Don’t just hunt for the next job doing the same thing for someone else….you CAN change your path by reinventing how you think about your career.

2. Your Children.

Encourage your children to be inquisitive. Allow them to investigate, inquire, and explore the world. Let them try activities that you don’t think they might like. Do NOT assume to know their skills and talents without letting them explore. Encourage them in the areas they are strong and talented. Help them learn to struggle through the areas that are not easy. Teach them perseverance and failure. They can’t appreciate success without experiencing struggle and failure.

Teach the emotional intelligence to understand, accept, and regulate their emotions and help them to be aware of those around them. Help them to see the importance of listening to their ‘gut’ and intuition. Teach them to trust their instincts as well as how to problem solve and think logically.

Support the idea that people make a living doing almost anything in the world and that no idea is crazy. It may not make sense to you in the moment, but encourage their confidence and self-belief in the possibilities they can create. Too many people stop at the point of assuming they couldn’t support their lifestyle doing something just because they don’t know anyone else that has. Stay open-minded and encourage them to do the same.

3. Your Leadership.

Focus your leadership on your unique and natural talents and personality. Understand your core values, your triggers, and your natural way of working. Write it down – create your expectations and communicate clearly to your team so you are all within the same understanding. Don’t fear being too harsh – Brene’ Brown says, “To be clear is to be kind.” That was a game changer for me – Clarity is kind, not harsh.

Don’t emulate leaders you respect…that may not be your natural style so it may not work for you. Take ‘pieces’ of leaders you respect and fit them into your style. This was a struggle for me as a young leader – I didn’t have mentoring and confidence in my own style so I asked others to step in when I could. One day, after a full-blown disaster of asking my boss to kick off a new year, motivating my team, I sat in that conference room feeling like I was watching a car wreck that I couldn’t stop. I walked out of the room thinking, “On my worst day, I could have done better than that.” It was in that ‘ah-ha’ moment I realized that I wasn’t like him, or others I respected, but I was a motivating leader in my own style and voice.

Think of it more like experimenting with different styles or approaches…keep what works, stop what doesn’t, and keep, at all times, your unique values, personality and strengths at the core of your Leadership Purpose. Own it and you will make an impact on those that follow you.

4. Your Retirement.

The transition into retirement is a milestone in a person’s life that we celebrate and look forward to for decades…but when it comes, the transition can bring very real, very intense emotions, decisions, reflections, and options. As one considers retirement, time and money are top of mind. I believe, just like other times of transition in your life, it’s a perfect opportunity to self-reflect about purpose, meaning, and how you will reinvent this stage of your life with intention. I talk a lot about wanting to keep meaning and purpose in your work, but it’s also an important guiding presence to how you spend time in retirement. Having clear recognition of your purpose, helps to guide what you say ‘yes’ to and what you say ‘no’ to in retirement. Finding the opportunities that are meaningful and fit you well will bring energy, anticipation and ease. When you find yourself in opportunities that aren’t a good fit, re-assess, use your purpose to to identify how to shift into relationships and opportunities that fit you.

Regardless of your stage in life, your age, or your vocation, it’s never too late to change your path – recognizing that you bring uniqueness to the world is real. Embrace the opportunity to identify your life purpose aligned with your unique traits and skills to make an impact in your children, your family, your work, or your volunteer opportunities.

For more information on how to connect your Purpose to the stage of life you are in now, click here

Don’t wait – Do something now to make a change for tomorrow. contact Tammy today for your free consultation!