Finding Your Passion and Purpose
Dr. Debbie Smrz, ND
Are you in a rut? Don’t feel as motivated as you used to? The pandemic has taken away many of the activities in life that kept us busy, you suddenly have more time, but less motivation and less energy.
Your next step is to find your passion and self-purpose.
Energy comes with the purpose, and excitement of achieving goals. After I’ve worked with my patients for a few months, they come in and tell me, doc, my symptoms are gone, I’m sleeping well, eating well, my energy is great, but I’d love to feel like I did in my 30’s, I guess it’s just age though, right? I’m lacking that motivation and energy?
Nope – it’s not age, it’s passion and focus.
You’ve been working hard and achieving your hierarchy of needs, it’s time to continue and breach the next step, self-actualization; which is finding purpose in life, a goal greater than yourself. Some people have always known this, they retire like a boss, with energy and enthusiasm to wake up every day. Others tell me they just don’t see the point in life anymore, the mood is low, anxiety is creeping up and motivation to do anything is out the window.
If you look at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and you’ve conquered the first 2 stages, it’s time to conquer the last.
20’s and 30’s – physiological needs and safety
30’s -conquer love and belonging, you have your friends, establishing your family
40’s and 50’s– Esteem and Self-actualization…..
Finding your passion takes time, focus and dedication. Think of this as a part-time job that you will commit time and energy to. Here are some questions to ask yourself.
- When you surf the web, what do you like to read about?
- What are you passionate about? You would walk on glass for?
- How much time do you devote or think about this?
- If you had $50 000 that HAD to be devoted to a cause, what would it be?
- What gives you inner satisfaction?
- What do you do to bring joy to your life?
- Where do you spend most of your mental time currently?
- What obstacles are in your way for your optimal year? Can we change them, or do we have to change expectations?
- Identifying what life would look like if everyone were living up to their fullest potential.
Actions you can take to help find your purpose:
- Research causes that interest you.
- Read the newspaper and see what articles cause an emotional reaction.
- Drunk driving? Accessibility issues? Human trafficking? Illiteracy? Clean water? Politics? Mental health?
- Volunteer
- Get a part-time job
- Stop worrying that you have to get this 100% right, it might take you time to find the one thing that matters most to you, or there might be a slew of that and that’s okay.
Examples:
You love to shop, doesn’t everyone? Nope, I hate to shop. It depletes me, even online. We moved recently, and have had to purchase new furniture etc. I find the whole process tedious and my hubby has to beg me to buy stuff.
You love planning trips and booking vacations, doesn’t everyone? Nope? I hate booking flights and planning my trips. I love to travel, but I want to show up and adventure, not have it all planned out before I get there.
“Feeling like there isn’t enough time” – really just means, May indicate low energy for those activities.. Now that we have found what brings you purpose, you will see the more time you live life in this place, the more energy you have. The more energy you have, the more you get done, the more money you can make (side hustle? Perhaps.) The happier you are.
The Japanese have a wonderful concept of this, it’s called Ikigai, meaning a reason for being. Now, if you are lucky enough to be able to align your passion and purpose with your vocation, you are one of the few, lucky ones. One of my passions is helping entrepreneurs with their goals, so we can talk later about how to make that your reality at another time, but for now, let’s work with where you are at. This means, for some of us our work is not our passion, and making a change is not an option at the moment. That’s okay. The more you start finding joy and passion in the tasks that you do, the more energy you have to do the things you love anyway. Let’s strive to spend the most amount of your time in the pink and blue circles.
So, now comes the real next step, take a breath, wait for it – outsource the soul-sucking, energy-depleting tasks from your life. If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re in your 40’s – you’re too old to be doing things you hate, that don’t bring you happiness.
When I was 24, I got my first cleaning lady. I don’t get happiness or joy from cleaning, so, I picked up a side hustle, teaching fitness classes, which I love to do, to pay for my cleaning lady. Fitness is a passion for me, not a vocation, so even though I am getting paid for it, I certainly don’t do it for the money. Hate cooking dinner? Get a food service and work an extra few hours. Your time and happiness is worth more than the money it will cost to outsource the job. Hate doing laundry, hire a cleaning lady and make this part of her service. Remember in the Brady Bunch – Alice, she cleaned, cooked and helped Mrs. Brady out in any way she needed it – get an Alice. Same with work, what tasks would you happily stay up late to complete, while others take you ages to finish? Maybe it’s time to have a heart to heart with your co-workers and redistribute the tasks. For the first 10 years in business, I hired assistants who were like me, because obviously on the interview I thought they were great – because they were like me. Finally, I realized I needed someone different from me, who complements my skills and actually enjoys doing the work I don’t. Find your complement, even if it means hiring a virtual assistant to do those tasks.
Time, not money is our most important asset.
List your weekly activities. Beside each activity, indicate the nature of the task as it pertains to happiness and energy level.
4 = Love it, it brings me happiness and energy
3 = I’m good at it and don’t mind doing it
2 = I feel neutral about it
1 = This depletes me and leaves me exhausted and bored.
Use this to help you redistribute your tasks.
Finding your passion is a huge step in aging like a Goddess. Need help? Contact me and let’s set up a discovery call, you deserve it all, and I have the secret formula to help you support you.