I don’t work simply to work. I work to fulfil my needs and my values.
I have a mission to shine the light on purpose to create positive global ripple effects. This is a lifelong project that involves many other people ensuring their voices are being heard across the world. This will be achieved through my writing, coaching and podcasting work.
I have chosen a word for this year to help me focus on my mission and that word is ‘Contribution’. The first action I have taken so far this year towards achieving my mission has been to finish the book I started writing last year. Yesterday I sent the first completed draft to my editor and it feels like such a huge milestone to have hit especially so early on in the year. I had previously expected to achieve this milestone by the end of February so I am ahead of schedule. Woohoo!
How about you? What is your mission and why is it so important for you to achieve it?
Do you feel aligned with your mission and purpose? If you are working for a company, do you understand how you fit in to the bigger picture of your business and how you make a difference?
Align your work with your values to become valued for your work. With the understanding that you are making a difference to other people, whether on a local, national or global basis, you will feel as though you are part of the giant life jigsaw.
In midlife, you start to soul search more as different priorities come to the fore. Whereas you may have previously focused on achievement, there is now a significant shift towards legacy and contribution. This self-reflection is why purpose becomes a prominent focus. With the experiences and learnings you have had you reach the midlife crossroads. I know that this happens because I too am a midlife beginner.
Shifting several times trying out a few different roles before finally creating a life of purposeful intention, I am now helping midlifers to initiate their own midlife beginnings and create their own lives with intentional purpose and purposeful intention.
You don’t need to be an entrepreneur or start your own business like I did to create work with purpose or passion. If you are currently in employment I am certainly not suggesting you jump ship and leave your job. Simply be aware of how your work contributes towards your fulfilment and whether there are changes you can make to ensure your existing role is purposeful. Many of my clients have suggested to their managers tweaks to their job description role and responsibilities that overnight have shifted their joy and fulfilment in their existing jobs.
Navigate a way to hone your strengths, values and personal mission to align them with the values, mission, vision and purpose of the company you already work for to be part of something bigger. If you understand your purpose and it sits in alignment with your values, you’ll feel fulfilled and satisfied in your work wherever that may be. Challenge yourself to look for ways and opportunities where you might be able to do that in your work now.
Your workplace is not the only source for your life of purpose. Any values-driven, purpose-focused or people-centred role where you are able to align your values with those of others to share a vision where you share responsibility for your contribution to the world will enable you to create a more purposeful life and fulfil your mission. It could be that another job or becoming an entrepreneur beckons or it could be a voluntary position in your neighbourhood or community.
Perhaps you could create your purpose-driven mission around fun or leisure. Do you harbour a childhood fancy for ice-skating, rock-climbing, knitting, painting, dancing or stand-up paddleboarding? Jo Moseley, Focus on WHY ep 295, describes herself as a ‘joy encourager’, midlife adventurer and beach cleaner. Dealing with grief, anxiety, menopause and a knee injury, Jo turned to paddleboarding to recover and reclaim her identity. She has since become the first woman to paddleboard coast to coast, cleaning the waterways and fundraising for 2MinuteBeachClean and The Wave Project along the way. Taking with ease to the water, Jo gains a sense of movement, freedom and calm confidence. Jo’s purposeful mission was created from trying out something new and different.
Knowing that there is always a bigger purpose behind the catastrophes and crises experienced and that they make you stronger and more resilient, Karin Volo, Focus on WHY ep 381 Hope, Joy and Gratitude, is focused on her mission in life of bringing joy to the workplace.
Are you focused on your mission?
Focus on WHY!
Amy
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