This week on the podcast, I’m excited to share a solocast where I reflect on how you can reconnect with your purpose and find your joy. In thinking about what I wanted to speak about this month, I was really inspired by the episode with Paul Selig (episode 90), and getting to see Danielle LaPorte this last Friday.
This episode is really two parts: a look back at how we lose our sense of purpose, often around the time we enter school. It’s at that time that we move from being inspired and encouraged to be creative, to write, dance, sing, and laugh. What had been a very internally facing, simple way of being shifts around the time we go to school, and we move into a time when we are often judged and graded based on external motivations. Feeling happy and joyful, and keeping the peace becomes less about following our hearts and doing simple things to keep us happy, and more about working hard to meet the expectations of teachers, parents, friends, and family.
The second section of this episode includes five ways that you can find your joy and rediscover your purpose in your life:
1. Looking for signs of your purpose, or reminders, in paying attention to the words that keep showing up in your life, the dreams you keep having, or a theme that seems to repeat itself – all under the lens of something that lights you up. If you’re drawn to a word or a theme, how can you bring more of that thing or phrase into your life? Does getting curious about it lead to clues about steps you can take to do something that feels more like your purpose?
2. Perhaps you’re already doing something that you love doing, but it’s something you regard as a side gig or hobby? In my work as a coach, I see a lot of people who have pushed their true passion and purpose off to the side. Sometimes it’s out of the fear that you might not be able to make a full time living doing this thing, or out of the fear that it’s not what other people expect from you. Can you take steps to bring this thing into your life in a bigger way?
3. Accept the “and” in your life – instead of seeing aspects of what you do as separate and different, look for ways to see an “and” in your life. It’s possible to be a podcaster and a project manager; an artist and a writer, a doctor and a singer. Often times mashing up multiple things you love doing offers a new and unique way to explore your purpose.
4. You get to the point where you can no longer ignore the thing you love doing. Maybe you’ve been doing something you love on the side (see number 2), and you know that you can’t keep putting it in the backseat. Are you at the point where you can no longer NOT do the thing you love?
5. Give yourself permission to do the thing you love to do. Often times you hide what you love, or try and push it aside because there’s something more “practical” you “should be doing. Sound familiar? If so, grant yourself permission to start doing that thing, more often, or in a bigger way.
Resources for the show:
Paul Selig on the Podcast, episode 90
Danielle LaPorte’s book White Hot Truth (on Amazon)
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