Clarity of Purpose beyond the J-O-B
My life’s purpose and focus just got even clearer this last week.
I hope you also feel that.
If not, I want to offer you some resources this month.
One of my strengths is patterns and trends - individuals and groups. I’ll be honest. I don’t hold a lot of hopeful optimism. What I do hold is clarity. Having built a relationship with my grief over these last years always invites me into clarity.
Holding clarity right now feels powerful. Clarity is actionable and offers purpose.
Pause for a moment.
How have recent external events impacted your perspective on your career purpose and goals? Where do you feel a great sense of purpose in your work? What aspects or tasks feel more hollow or have lost their sense of purpose?
Clarity in your career is more than just "knowing what you want to do." It’s about understanding why you're on your chosen path and aligning your work with your values, strengths, and evolving priorities. In my experience, career clarity is essential because it roots you in a sense of purpose that can guide you through challenges, transitions, and unexpected changes. That is these times like no other.
In my Embodied Climate Action workshop Saturday, folks came for gratitude for grieving practices (which I shared a version of last week with you all, here it is if you missed it.) In that, some folks were raw in grief and rage over the implications of decisions and how they will impact our collective and individual futures including climate.
Here’s something I offered and I want to share with you.
The outcomes of these days were set in motion years or decades ago. Unfortunately for most of us, the human brain paired with the design of this morning world makes it so we often don’t feel the impact until the train has left the station, so to speak. But that doesn’t mean all is lost. It means it’s time to get focused, to come together, and to hone in on where we can impact.
This is where clarity of purpose in your J-O-B and beyond is critical. There’s so much noise in the world - on social media, in our day-to-day routines, and no doubt in increasing demands and to-do’s of your career.
Our work right now is to slow down and gain clarity on what really matters to you deep in your core, in your community, and, definitely, what is most needed in the world moving forward.
The slow down is required because then you can quiet the noise and cultivate your creativity - that part of your brain of infinite imagination so that each of us can collectively reimagine new, better futures. This is called futures thinking and it IS the resilience skill set required for these times.
This new free workshop was already in the works before this last week’s election results. And I’ve come to it this week with great resolve that this is one of the ways I can support you in gaining greater clarity on your career because that is the space you spend ⅓ of your adult life on (another ⅓ is sleeping). For many high-achieving overs, I might argue that that average is on the low end. Folks I work with want to make a positive impact with their lives and work. They want to be able to focus on what matters and to shift into the areas of meaningful connection and growth.
So isn’t it time to reclaim the relationship you have with your career? To make it the most impactful and meaningful work it can possibly be? Or even to decide that it can’t be as meaningful to you anymore that you need to pivot?
Clarity is a compass, allowing you to navigate choices with confidence, even in turbulent times, which are the times we are in, internally as well as in the world around us. Achieving clarity isn’t a one-time event; it’s a practice. As our lives, values, and the world around us change, your understanding of what career success and fulfillment look like must radically evolve. If this makes you feel scare-cited (that mix of frightened and excited in possibilities), then this is for you.