I worked really hard to become a therapist (something I’m still in debt for).

And I spent years working in a super rewarding, but equally stressful environment. And like many others in the mental health field, I burned out. I actually even left the field.

Kind of.

I went to go work on the other side of the aisle – an insurance company. And while I actually liked the company, I absolutely hated the daily work. But I didn’t know what else to do. I felt direction-less.

It took me awhile, but I eventually figured out what I wanted to do – leading me on a journey that led me here (and also to your inbox).

Doing work that you enjoy is a different type of difficult conversation – one that you need to have with yourself. Because too many of us spending years doing work we don’t enjoy and drain our energy.

But finding work that fulfills us can make all the difference, even on the bad days.

Because all too often, we get stuck on the “what” of our career – our job title, our role, the company or type of company.

When really what’s most important is figuring out your “why” – your purpose, your meaning. Once you figure that out, everything else falls into place.

So today, I want to share with you 3 questions to ask yourself or you can share with others if they’re struggling to find meaning in their work.

1. What is your vision of an ideal world? / What does a perfect world look like to you?
2. What are 3-5 talents and skills you like to use?
3. How can you use these talents/skills to make that ideal world a reality?

Note – it’s really important to distinguish the talents and skills you like to use. We’re all good at different things, but it doesn’t mean we like doing them all the time.

I am really good at cleaning and deep cleaning.

But it doesn’t mean that I want to do it all the time (despite how much my wife keeps asking me to).

If you can take the answer to those 3 questions and turn it into 1-2 sentences, you’ve got yourself a really compelling and passionate elevator pitch about who you are and what you’re about.

And you can use your new insights as your compass to figure out what you were born to do.

If you ever want a sounding board, let me know, I’m always happy to help people discover their purpose.

Cheers,

Chris

PS –

1. If you’re looking for tips on getting better at difficult conversations and you’re interested in hearing how some of them can go, I have a podcast >>>>>> Check it out at this link or wherever you get your podcasts.
2. If you’re looking for strategies to be better at coaching your employees >>>>> Check out this link to a free 1-hour course on effective performance coaching.

If you are a nonprofit leader stuck in being able to move things ahead in your organization due to people challenges, check out this white paper I just published on overcoming barriers to strategic plan implementation >>>>> it’s free for you to download here.