The power of purpose…

Hi, there lovely readers! I’m right in the middle of planning and supporting the delivery of multiple, simultaneous initiatives including career planning, change management and wellbeing sessions for several multinational clients. This in addition to our usual career transition work. Fun, exhaustive, a lesson in restraint when stress kicks in (thank goodness for a great team, wine and yoga!) and all perfectly aligned with my purpose – to help people find theirs. And an excellent resource for the blog’s 2019 focus – your job.

Having just delivered the first Career Planning session to a group of switched-on HR professionals, I was delighted to hear that several were already working on career goals. One devoting four hours monthly to reviewing how she might further develop her existing strengths, build new ones and onboard her strategy with her leader. She had aligned her capabilities to both the goals of the organisation and her five-year career plan. A session objective role-model.

Statistics say we spend more time planning our holidays than our careers, yet, given we spend 40+ of our 168 hours per week in our jobs, it would pay to take a leaf from my role-model’s book. The first step is to consider the power of your purpose, a key element to enjoying career satisfaction. A few questions to consider:

What’s my purpose?

• Do I wake up most Mondays feeling energised to go to work?
• Do I feel a personal calling for my work?
• Am I clear about how I measure my personal success?
• Do I use my gifts and add real value to people’s lives?
• Do I work with people who honour the values I value?
• Am I experiencing real joy in my work?
• Am I making a living doing enough of what I most love to do?
• Do I feel personally satisfied with what I’ve accomplished?
• Do I go to sleep most nights feeling this day was well-lived?

If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to a majority of these questions, excellent! If, on the other hand, you find yourself sighing, a time to reflect on the following:

What might be my bliss?

• If pay or prestige weren’t an issue, what would I really love to be doing?
• Whose jobs do I admire the most and why?
• What types of work activities energise me the most?
• What gives me the highest satisfaction, fulfilment, and a sense of purpose in my current work?
• And in my personal life?
• If I can’t make a career out of my biggest interests, can I incorporate some of them into my existing job?
• What would I like to be known for?
• What kind of legacy would I like to leave?

Asking herself similar questions, Carla Coulson left her Sydney marketing job, fled to Florence and enrolled in photography studies, determined to turn her passion into reality. Three successful books later, Carla now shares her story with others considering a similar career change.

Radical, or a little closer to home, and regardless of age you can still control your career destiny (I found my career bliss at 42), starting with the power of your purpose. Enjoy finding yours!

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