I was watching Oprah’s Master Class last night and found myself nodding my head emphatically when she said this regarding purpose:
How do you know that it’s your purpose? It feels like you’re supposed to be there… you feel most like yourself. -Oprah
What makes finding your passion or purpose so tough is that it doesn’t always reveal itself to you fully. Your passion may come to you in glimpses. A feeling of contentment as you stroke a paint brush across a canvas. That wave of calm that washes over you when you help someone understand a complex problem. The feeling of complete you-ness as you rally your peers to a cause. I call these glimpses your times of ecstatic engagement – those times in your life that reflect your very best, the very happiest you – when you feel most peaceful and like yourself. It’s truly amazing when it hits you.
Image Credit: nimbu
It’s absolutely necessary to pinpoint these times in order to get clear on what lights your fire, but it’s just as important to pinpoint those times when you’ve felt wholly uncomfortable. When were the times when you felt completely unlike yourself? The times when you felt entirely out of your element? Perhaps you felt anxious or stressed. Maybe you were cranky or close to tears. However it manifests itself for you, it’s important to acknowledge those times or experiences that are so not you. I can squarely point to the times in my life that left me the most unfulfilled. I can point to exactly what I was doing and why it made me so unhappy. I know with certainty now the jobs or opportunities that I should stay far, far away from. And knowing this allows me to get that much clearer on all the things I’m absolutely meant to be doing.
When you’re doing something that is out of whack with your core, it hurts. It settles itself down in your soul and slowly chips away at your peace of mind and contentment. If you are stuck in a situation that is just not you, study it. Figure out precisely what is making you uncomfortable. Sit with that discomfort until you can clearly articulate what is causing you to feel that way. Knowing what rubs you the wrong way will go a long way in your journey to discover your passion. It is just as important to know what we hate to do as it is to know what we absolutely love to do.
When have you felt times of ecstatic engagement? What makes your soul do a pirouette? On the flip side, when have you felt utter discomfort from doing something so against your passions?
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