Purpose is my jam!
Not a day goes by that I do not look up from my desk and read my purpose statement – sometimes multiple times a day. I do this both intentionally and unintentionally – sometimes I glance up and read it without thought and at other times, when things are getting difficult and I need a reminder of why I do what I do, I purposely look up and read it. I’m that person who has her purpose statement on a poster hanging on the wall in both of her offices. I did this intentionally because I realized when I went through the process of “connecting with my purpose” and then creating my “purpose statement” that the process energized and invigorated me – it brought me a great deal of satisfaction and hope for the future.
Today, every time I read my purpose statement – whether it’s just because I happened to look up and it was in my line of sight, or I’m intentionally reading it because things are feeling hard and I’m questioning my decisions - my purpose statement reminds me that there is a reason that I chose the work that I do, and this then allows me to do the next right thing so that I can keep moving forward in my life and my career. In this way I can be intentional about the decisions that I make and ensure that they are in line with my purpose and with my values.
Until two years ago I’d never really thought about my purpose or even if I had a purpose. I always knew, even as a child, that I wanted to do work that was impactful – that made a difference for other people; however, I never thought about it in terms of “my purpose in life is to….” Now I recognize that this is likely why I floundered through the first half of my professional career never really feeling settled or satisfied in the work that I was doing. The work I did in the first part of my professional life was just work – it paid the bills, but it wasn’t in line with my purpose. In 2000 I found a job that I now know was perfectly aligned with my purpose. After starting this new position, I stopped changing jobs every year and fell in love with the work that I was doing. Two years ago, as part of my professional development goals and to improve my leadership skills, I entered a coach training program during which we were asked to identify our purpose.
Through the purpose work that I did in the coach training program I came to realize that the reason I loved the work that I had been doing over the previous 19 years was because it aligned with my purpose and with my values. Once I explored what my purpose was and then created my purpose statement everything changed. I still love the work that I do for this amazing non-profit organization located in Rancho Cordova, and because I know my purpose, I am now much more intentional when making decisions about work. I interact with colleagues and clients differently because I now know, at a very deep level, that part of my purpose is to hear those who might not otherwise be heard and to empower myself and others to live lives that are intentional, value driven and filled with passion and joy. Focusing on my purpose means that I respond differently as a leader and service provider than I did before completing coach training and the associated purpose work.
This was a turning point for me as a person and as a professional. I recognized that if connecting with my purpose was making such a difference in my life it might also be useful to others. Therefore, when I founded my coaching business – Intentionally Me! in January of 2021 - I decided that one of the things I would focus on in my business would be to make offerings available in the form of Purpose Workshops that would support others to connect with their purpose.
And that’s what I’ve done! In May of 2021 I offered my fist two-part virtual purpose workshop. I learned a lot about facilitating a virtual workshop and got great feedback from other coaches and workshop participants. As a result, this month I’ll be co-facilitating a one-day, in-person Purpose Workshop hosted by BAWLR. In August I’ll be facilitating a new and improved virtual Purpose Workshop – now expanded to a three-part series thanks to that great feedback I received. Moving forward the virtual workshop will be offered quarterly. My sincere hope is that my story will intrigue you and make you want to connect with your purpose and you’ll join me at one of these workshops so that you too can move forward with purpose and intention and live your best!
