Joyce Shafer Article Number 6
What Am I Supposed to Be Doing With My Life?
This
article isn't about Barbara Sher's Scanners, but I want to mention them
first before I go on to what I want to say. If you have ever felt
concerned because you tend to start projects with zeal then find you
zig and zag every time a new project strikes your fancy, please look up
her Website and learn about Scanners. If you're a Scanner, there's
nothing wrong with you; you just need to understand what motivates you
and how to manage and value your nature for your best interests and
fulfillment.
The answer to the question in the title can be
arrived at by asking three additional questions (right questions always
lead to appropriate-for-you answers).
First question: What am I good at?
There
are important reasons I suggest you spend time with this question. If
you struggle with perfectionism, whether it's your nature or is the
nature of an influential authority figure in your life (living or
passed on), more than likely, you blip right past achievements in your
life, small and large, and it's time to recognize and learn how to
celebrate these. Maybe you grew up with one or more people who felt so
negative about themselves they projected it onto you with critical
comments. If so, it's time you realize that was their pain speaking and
had nothing to do with you or your gifts, talents, or skills (though,
ultimately, it served a purpose for you). It's time to step out of
living in the past and into Now.
There's another reason I
suggest you look at this question: What you're good at may have nothing
to do with what you're supposed to do (or want to do) in life. A
personal example is years ago, I was helping someone clean and
re-bandage her surgical incision. Because of my efficiency and gentle
touch, the person said I could easily be in medicine. Well, no, I
couldn't. Why not? That field and I are absolutely unsuited to each
other.
Recognize that you may be good at something (even
exceptional at it), but you may not want to do it as a career. Many get
trapped into unfulfilling jobs and/or are never promoted because of
this one.
Second question: What am I passionate about?
Most
of the time we're asked what we can do or, as in the first question,
what we are good at. This second one is such an important question and
one many of us never ask ourselves. See if you can list five of these.
If you're not sure what this means, ask yourself what you were doing
the last time you felt truly alive; and this feeling is with you each
time you do whatever it is. What other times did you feel this way?
What were you doing?
I'll go straight to the point with one
example about why what you're passionate about may or may not lead you
to what you're supposed to be doing in life: Sex. I'm not a
statistician, but a number of you are going to think or state that
you're passionate about sex. Now, it may be that after you answer the
third question, you realize that you can provide qualified service to
others as a sex therapist, Tantric teacher or counselor, etc. But for
most people, feeling passionate about sex won't lead to what their
life's work is for them.
Third question: What am I good at that I am also passionate about?
This
is a question worth real consideration. Can you name three to five
responses to this question? Can you see one or more common threads that
weave through two or more of your responses? If a way to do this in
exchange for compensation doesn't exist, are you open to creating a
way? Who, specifically, besides you, would benefit if you lived your
purpose?
Did one or more fears spring up? Let's deal with this
now. How will it feel if you live your purpose? How will it feel if you
don't? Which of these feelings do you want for the rest of your life?
Allow
yourself to mull the third question over in your mind and heart. Also
allow that once you know the answer, it will fine-tune itself over time
as you continue to learn, grow, and evolve.
Once you know the
answer, you get an automatic Time Management Tweak because it's going
to be much easier to look at how much of your time is spent doing
things related to your purpose and what you give your time to that will
never help you hit your target, contribute to your life purpose, or let
you feel what you want to feel.
NOW AVAILABLE as an all-in-one BONUS PACK!
This entire three book pack is yours for just $8.95
|
|
