When young people embark on a career direction, they often focus on external factors. Maybe it’s a parent’s influence or a family business. Sometimes it’s the promise of an impressive professional standing or starting salary. Perhaps it’s a favorite professor or a friend’s track that influences their decision. In any of these cases, there’s a sense that the answer lies outside of the person—that the question of what to do with one’s life is a matter of adaptation rather than discovery. Over time, the result often disappoints.
Estimates suggest that the average American makes a significant career change at least twice in his/her life. Many estimates suggest that number may be higher! This means more than taking a different job in the same or similar field. (Statistics show the average American worker goes through 12-15 of those.) These major shifts move us to new ground professionally and creatively. Likewise, many times they offer us the opportunity for a deeper, more impactful reset—in short, the chance to re-envision ourselves from a new angle and to re-align the way we contribute to the world.
Regardless of whether we are considering our first foray into the professional arena or weighing the possibility of a new calling, the questions we ask ourselves have considerable power.
What beliefs, values and circumstances will we heed in selecting a path? Will we fill a need or fulfill a passion? Will we prioritize a salary or contemplate an expansive sense of inner reward? Do we believe success is defined by a certain kind of occupational role, or do we consider it more in terms of congruence between the personal and professional? How do we value our talents? What does it mean to us to be of service in life and profession?
We might feel pulled or pressured by one approach or another. We want to honor our own enthusiasm, but we also (rightfully) seat practical concerns under the umbrella of self-interest. We want to respond to a need we perceive in our community, but we’re also cognizant that some things just aren’t in our personal wheelhouse.
What if all of those questions and considerations (among countless others) had a legitimate place in our decision? What if, instead of making ourselves choose one value as the ultimate deciding factor, we looked for the intersection among all of them? What if we could weigh our personal talents and interests with instead of against our financial needs and the professional world’s priorities?
That’s exactly why we created the latest Primal Health Coach graphic (pictured above).
What we love to do feeds our passion. What we’re good at directs those interests as well as fosters our sense of competence in the world. When that competence meets a need in the greater society, we feel invested in profession. And when that need cultivates our personal passion, we find ourselves inspired by a sense of mission.
Ultimately, when all these angles of interest, inspiration and connection are met—when the full visionary cycle plays out, we find ourselves living in the flow of purpose.
Purpose moves us from occupation to vocation. We can ask ourselves this: do we feel called—by the world, by our gifts, by our passions—to the work we pursue? If the answer is yes, we’re living from a sustainable center. We have the opportunity each day to cultivate our greatest fulfillment and make our most potent contribution.
Are you living your purpose? How can the Primal Health Coach Program help you align with this intersection and achieve the full measure of your individual purpose?
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