Living on Purpose - Finding Your Forgotten Life's Passion

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Cheryl_DeMarco]Cheryl DeMarco

Who are you? Answer that question right now before you read further. I'll guess that many of you answered the questions by saying what you do, or what your relationship is to someone else. If you named your occupation, or said you are a parent or spouse, you have actually answered a different question.

Who you are is not the same as what you do. All work is designed to end at some time. Children grow up and move away. Marriages end. When identity is tied to anything outside ourselves, we set ourselves up for substantial turmoil when life sends us those inevitable endings. So who are you? Another way of asking that question is: what is your life purpose?

I've been asked this question numerous times over the past three years of coach training and instruction. I can't say I really knew what the question meant, or how to answer it at first. I thought life purpose was for more highly evolved humans, like The Dalai Lama, not regular people like me. I was annoyed and intimidated by the question. It took years to finally recognize my answer to the question: I teach. I am a teacher.

Now that I recognize my life purpose, I realize that I can live it everyday, all the time. I don't need another formal teaching job to fulfill this purpose, because most teaching and learning takes place outside the classroom. When I write, I teach. When I tell my daughter how to make balsamic vinaigrette, I teach. This is what gives me joy: to assist a person to know or do something s/he considers useful and that enriches life. I teach. I am a teacher.

There are two schools of thought on life purpose. Some believe that it is a matter of personal choice; it is whatever you say it is. Others believe that your life purpose is within you and you have no say in what it is. The process for discovering your life purpose is different depending on which you believe. If you believe the former, then choose whatever moves and inspires you, and act on it consistently and frequently. If you believe the latter, your path is more challenging, because you will be seeking a purpose that is already within you. In either case, think about what gives you the greatest satisfaction. What are your greatest strengths? What abilities of yours have others commented on? How would your family, friends and coworkers describe your unique contribution to the world? What could you talk about all day if someone would listen? What activities make you completely lose track of time? What were you like as a kid? What was your greatest passion then? What did you want to do when you grew up?

This is a process which takes time and effort, and for some, a considerable amount of discomfort. Sometimes the need to live in conformance with purpose becomes so intense, that at midlife we recognize a need to step off the path we've followed and devote ourselves to a quest for self-fulfillment. Often that means returning to a deep source of satisfaction we experienced years ago, when we didn't have the courage to follow that course. That has been my experience for sure.

When I was in high school, I wanted to be a writer. I wrote a high school news column for a local paper, and people told me that I was good at it. My parents, however, didn't think journalism was any kind of a career for a woman, so I got a degree in early childhood education. I loved kindergarteners and I was a natural teacher. But restlessness set in after about fifteen years and I became a lawyer. I used my teaching ability to relate to juries, and to assist young lawyers to do the same. After about 15 years (is there a pattern here?) I became a coach. As a coach I teach concepts and help clients find ways to use those concepts to become better leaders. Looking back I see that teaching has been a constant in my life, no matter where I worked or what the job title. I feel like I finally know what I will do with the rest of my life.

So who are you? What is your forgotten passion? What is your purpose in life?


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cheryl_DeMarco http://EzineArticles.com/?Living-on-Purpose---Finding-Your-Forgotten-Lifes-Passion&id=1319562