There’s been a force in my life since the dawn of the New Year and I can’t get my head around it. As I look, listen and instinctively feel around me, I’m not alone in this experience. And I’m quite sure I’m not supposed to get my “head” around it – it’s about the experience, trusting, and acting in faith. As I meditated this morning and sat in silent reflection, I was guided to create a blog series on self discovery, life purpose and exploration. For those of you finding yourself in a similar place, let’s take a journey down the rabbit hole and see what we can discover.
I’ve never been one to ease in to any action item – I tend to jump in and go for the jugular right out of the gate. After all, if you can deal with the biggest issues first, the rest is a piece of cake, right? So, let’s start with life purpose. Ahhh, the grand daddy of them all – what is my purpose in life? What indelible mark do I get to leave on this canvas of life? Am I on course? Have I drifted? Have I deluded myself to believe I was on course, but actually denying something more? It’s one thing to ask the questions, it’s quite another to honestly reflect and answer. So let’s start reflecting to arrive at some honest, authentic and empowering answers to guide our course.
The first question that I ask myself is – Who am I? I define myself as an attorney, someone who has ran legal departments for corporations, someone who has set up her own law firm and operated it for nearly a decade, someone who sits on boards of directors, has chaired boards of directors, has served on numerous committees and has chaired numerous committees, including launching inaugural committees, someone who speaks and presents on topics to help others, someone who has assisted thousands of people over the years and helped them reach for their dreams and goals. But (ever notice how much a “but” can minimize everything that precedes it?), I’ve gotten lost by defining myself as the roles I’ve played rather than being clear in who I am in serving these roles. There’s a difference and I believe the sense of unease I’ve been experiencing this year is the awareness of this distinction. I became very clear of one thing – I don’t want to be defined as an “attorney” since I am so much more than that role. Equally as important, I want to get back in touch with who I am and powerfully connect with all things I am and can be.
Check back tomorrow for the next step in my quest for answers and the valuable lessons and insights I learned from Maria Shriver as she weighs in on defining self and purpose in meaningful ways. Until then, block 20 minutes out of your calendar and ponder the question “Who am I?” Write down all of your answers, don’t hold yourself back – include everything that enters your mind. This will be the start of a powerful journey that can help you connect to what is truly important in your life. Thanks for sharing the ride.