How I found my calling.
Learning how to show up in your own life to find the purpose you crave.
Instead of an aha moment, I had a “Duh! Yes, that’s it!” moment.
Arriving at “this is who I am and what I am here to do” didn’t happen right away. After months of tossing and turning in bed at night wondering what was wrong with my meticulously-planned life and how I was going to fix it, I had a very strong gut feeling to call a woman I had met a year previously and ask her for help.
She was a coach I’d met socially by chance. I wasn’t looking for a coach. But for some reason, one had appeared in my life and 365 days later I understood the reason behind that chance meeting.
After an initial call and in-person session with her, I sensed how much work I had to do to really step into who I was. So, I hired her and we got to work.
With her guidance and some intense personal discovery, I finally figured out what really brought me joy and felt right — not surface-level happiness, but deep, soul-filling joy.
- I identified and articulated my life values; what I needed in my everyday to feel complete.
- Created a life map filled with I AM statements that helped me see a vision for my life.
- Checked in with my inner child to heal what needed to be healed (more on that later).
- Began discovering and removing limiting belief after limiting belief.
And what do you know … it all started to become clear. What my personal mission was. How I wanted to serve. My purpose.
If you remove the expectations of what you should do …
Clear the limiting beliefs that hold you back …
Identify what brings you joy and what you’re drawn to …
… you will, in fact, arrive at your purpose.
Turns out having the one-on-one support of someone to see what you don’t, call you on beliefs that don’t serve you, and push you to outdream your own dreams is exactly what I needed to step off the path of obligation — path of shoulds — and start floating through the world on my very own magic carpet, the one that will take me wherever I want to go.
You have to do the work. You gotta get deep. And to get deep, you have to be willing to unpack yourself — even those hidden-away parts that you thought you never wanted to see again.
It can get uncomfortable, but don’t you feel soooo much better once you clean out a part of your house you’ve neglected for years? (Hello, garage!) Having a coach ask you the right questions helps you call BS on beliefs you didn’t even know you had. It challenges what you think you know and what feels safe. It allows you to decide, consciously, to step into something bigger … your full self.
Hey, I might have gotten 90% of the way there on my own by reading any one of the 50 self-help books I had on my bedside table, but it was the unpacking, reframing and perfectly-timed introspective questions that really led to my transformation. An expert — someone whose purpose in life is to help people realize their full potential — helped me with the tools and mental framework I needed to create the life I wanted. Yes, I did the work, but they showed me where to look so I could see what I hadn’t seen before. Unlimited possibility in all directions: work, love, motherhood, self, community…
It took me four months of interpersonal work with my coach to fully articulate what I felt called to do. I spent that four months removing layer after layer of judgments, assumptions, “musts” and “shoulds” that I’d picked up along the way. Once the baggage and limitations were removed, a whole new world opened up.
I could actually see, for the first time, a blank page I could write my own story on.
Six months later, I have stepped into who I am and see unlimited potential in my future. The business I’m launching this August (@collectivegain) aligns with my calling to helping millions of people live happier, more fulfilling lives.
Is it scary? Kinda. But when you know this is exactly what you’re built for, you feel the universe behind you. You feel the momentum and an unstoppable urge to live your mission and bring it to life.
This, this is what we strive for. This sense of knowing that where you are is exactly where you’re meant to be.
I believe everyone has a calling. The answer is within you. Your job is to follow what feels right and be open to the possibility of your own life…and if you’re like me, hire someone to help you. It’s the best investment I made in myself, ever.
No matter how it may feel to start the journey, the world needs you to be YOU. It needs your talent and gifts in the way only you can share them. It’s your duty to show up, do the work and #liveyourtruth.
#actuallyICAN
If you’ve enjoyed this story, you’ll likely love my upcoming series centered around how to find your way. Stay updated with my latest articles and follow Collective Gain to join a community of people searching for better.
