Like a cat chasing its own tail, looking for your purpose can feel like a never-ending pursuit. Luckily, the signs are usually right under your nose begging for your attention. Have you taken notice?
I always expected mine to be GRAND and BIG and MAGICAL. I was on the hunt for it, for years. Even as I kid, I’d track down adults and ask what they did with their lives, if it made them happy, and if they could do anything else what would that be. I went on to ask these same questions of myself and others, well into adulthood.
I was addicted to the pursuit.
Truth is, part of me didn’t want to know what my purpose was. If I did, it would require me to take responsibility and action in order to change my circumstances. It was easier, though slightly more uncomfortable, to feel stuck and continue questioning than to step onto a new path.
I was scared
…of how my relationships would shift.
…of how I would need to admit I’m really an entrepreneur and let go of the notion of a “fall back job” just in case things didn’t work out (read = I didn’t believe they could).
…of how long held beliefs about what’s possible for me would need to be chucked out the door.
Call it fear of success, fear of failure, or fear of adulting. The bottom line is I wasn’t ready to change…until I was. So I did.
Are you in hot pursuit of your purpose?
Do you have a sense of what it is and feel in alignment with it?
Consider this:
Your purpose doesn’t need to be found.
Your potential doesn’t need to be realized.
Your passion doesn’t need to be a daily activity.
Counterintuitive? Isn’t this what the self-help books and personal growth workshops are all about? Maybe. Let me suggest another way…
Let your life be about what lights you up.
Let your life be about enjoying the small moments.
Let your life be about feeling a genuine connection with others.
Let your life be about being of service, feeling useful, contributing.
Let your life be about paying attention to the signs and following your intuition.
You do this, and guess what?
Your purpose will find you.
It’s on the other side of delight. Around the corner from acknowledging what’s going well. In the conversation you keep returning to in your mind. It’s with each passing day where you evolve more fully into yourself. It’s in the mini micro aha’s. It’s in what your friends thank you for.
Your purpose isn’t just a specific job or a nicely summed up elevator speech. It’s you, your essence, how you show up in the world, and what you find yourself continuing to want to do. Funny how the minute you take your mind off of searching for it, there it is.
Or perhaps it’s been hiding behind the couch all this time.
Don’t let the search keep you stuck. Start where you are. Decide you’re ready for change. Know that now is a good time to start something new. Reach out for support.
Ready to go from stuck to started? From fear to clear? From searching for your purpose to being purposeful?
Originally published at www.vasmith.com