Tag: career

Posted on in Personal Thoughts

My Journey Is My Own

The next question that came was, “Do you enjoy helping others?” My first thought was a curiosity of other perspectives. Do people think my work is all about helping others? Do people think my goal is to help people? What an interesting idea.

I don’t try to help others. It’s not my goal, or my intention, or my reason for doing what I do. Admittedly, my process often does help in terms of providing insight or resources. I believe if I approached my work with the goal of helping others, I would fail often. That’s a lot of pressure with little direction.

I believe there is a process of becoming, an unfolding of authentic identity that must occur for purpose and passion to meet. I did not embark on my journey to help others. I did it to help me. I did not sign up for college classes or earn degrees with the thought of how someone else could be more successful. I did it to acquire new knowledge that was aligned with my deepest values and to navigate my own beliefs, fears, and possibilities. I never embraced a role, a job, or a duty to be nice or helpful. I did it because I knew without a doubt I was where I belong, and it would create momentum for the next leap.

Who I am and what I do are aligned, intertwined, and inseparable. Along the way to get where I am now, there were many levels, many upgrades, plenty of challenges, and so much to learn! Here’s the thing; I’m not done growing and I’m going to keep going! I love where I am but I know there is more for me. I don’t always know what my presence will mean to someone else, but I know that if I show up where I am meant to be as myself, it will be powerful, meaningful, and moving. I wish for everyone to reach this understanding and move into authentic being. Imagine what the world could be like!

Posted on in personal development

Breathe Passion

Recently I was asked, “Do you love what you do?” Questions like this come up from time to time, especially when encountering someone new or new to what I do. It makes me laugh because the honest answer seems obvious to me. Of course, I love what I do! Why else would I do it?

In reality, a lot of people do things they don’t love. Sometimes there is good reason to do the necessary work of life. Sometimes the thing you are doing isn’t what fulfills you, but it is a pathway towards your true fulfillment. In a perfect world, anyone who answers “no” to the question of loving what you do would follow with a “but” that describes why they do it and how they are truly happy. Income isn’t always tied to passion.

I feel very blessed to say my work is my passion. I’ve been doing it so long now; I sometimes forget how long the road really was for me. I didn’t always love the work I had to do. I didn’t always love school and the things I was required to learn to move up and acquire more. In fact, it took me no less than a decade to reach the point where I had organized things just well enough to move into the career field I was pursuing. In that time, I spent thousands of hours in classrooms and hundreds more in jobs that were necessary, maybe fun, sometimes unpleasant, but in any case, it was all part of the journey.

Every part of my journey has been a learning experience. I don’t expect that to stop now. So, embrace where you are along your path, even if you don’t know the destination or even the next turn. We face detours, reroutes, construction, vast miles of emptiness, traffic jams, stops, and every other challenge a road offers in life. Yet, there is much beauty to behold and there can always be a next destination rather than a final one.