What Light's You Up?
While driving into work today, I heard on the radio a request for listeners to call in with “advice” for graduating seniors. I was instantly curious to see what advice well-meaning folk would have for these fresh-faced graduates. The calls poured in, and the advice mostly flowed along the lines of “Don’t use the credit cards you get in the mail.” “Contribute to your 401K.” Nothing along the lines of “Change your sheets more than once a year,” or “Call your mother every once in a while, she wants to know you’re still alive.” Certainly, there was no advice along the lines of “Life is long, follow your joy in all things and you will have an amazing life.”
I mean seriously, if you were to poll all of your adult friends and ask them if they are currently using the degree they studied for in college, what percentage do you think would say yes? I suspect very small…heck, I’m a Home EC major and haven’t baked a cake or sewn a garment in years! (I mean, who says “garment” other than a Home EC major??) I think there is a significant disconnect when it comes to choosing a career and choosing what lights up your heart. They should go hand in hand, but oh so often, it’s like you’ve hit the fork in the road. Veering off to the left to follow a “career” path as you longingly look off to the right where your Joy is heading. More often than not, you will derail down the road, wondering why you are having trouble following the path laid out in front of you. You can’t get to Paris if you’re driving to Fargo, they aren’t even close to each other!
Let's say you're being gently guided toward medicine, I mean what mother doesn't want their child to be a doctor, right? The pressure to do what our parents want can be heavy and weigh on our shoulders. You don't think going every day to the office to look in someone’s ear is going to light you up. I so get that! But what if you’re interested in sports, or you’re interested in race cars, or you’re interested in looking at the stars, or even interested in bugs!! Is there a way those interests could intersect with medicine? What if you were a doctor specializing in Sports Medicine? What if you were a doctor for Mario Andretti's race team? What if you were a doctor in the lab at NASA for the astronauts? Top Doc at the Bug Farm? How do you piece these things together so that your passions are lighting you up in the given field that you pursue?
Maybe you've always been interested in animals, but your mom and dad want you to study law. What is it about animals that attract you? Could it be that you are concerned for their well-being? Could it be possible that you go into a law practice where the primary focus is animal advocacy? What if walking on a pristine beach, teeming with animal life, lights your heart up from the inside out? If it’s not Torts you are interested in, maybe it’s Tortoises? Legal counsel for Save the Whales? Take what lights you up and see how you can connect it to a career that brings you joy.
What is it that lights your heart up right now? Something that you quite possibly think is nutty and there's no way it could translate into a future for you? When I looked back to find out what my original medicine was as a child, what came easily for me, what I enjoyed immensely, things came up like playing with Barbie dolls. I can see the job listing now "Middle-aged woman wanted to play with Barbie dolls. Competitive salary and benefits. Apply now!"
Well, it wasn't about the Barbie dolls themselves that lit me up, it was the role-playing and imagination I used with these dolls (and Ken, of course, because he was smoking hot), creating scenarios, stories, possibilities, and ideas. Like acting out daydreams. That translates into what's called dreaming and scheming, and quite frankly, I rock at it. It's my gift and talent. My genius. You can tell me your story and what interests you and my mind automatically, goes to work dreaming and scheming up possibilities. Taking the activities, teasing out the gifts and talents that light you up, and helping you shape future possibilities.
My message to you is this, look past the surface of what interests you. What is the foundation of it? What does it feel like when you do these things? Does it feel like freedom? Just because catching frogs by the bog makes you feel like you're in heaven doesn't mean that's what you're supposed to do for a living. Maybe it translates into doing research about environments for amphibians? Or is it the fact that you absolutely need a job where you can work out in nature? You have to look at the feeling you get when doing these things. Your heart lights up for a reason. You need to start listening to it so that you can pull on those threads and see where they take you.
Okay here is where you start. You have to identify your original medicine, what we were born with that is characterized by unique gifts and talents. So take a few minutes and answer these questions and then ponder the insights you get.
What were your favorite things to do when you were a kid? Where were you at the time? How did it feel in your body, i.e., lightness, tingly?
What did you do that felt good, safe and natural?
What can you do for hours without realizing the time has flown by?
What would you enjoy so much you would do it for free?
Describe a time that you were at your best.
Sometimes we can be disconnected from what we used to do when we were kids. We’ve had to put our big girl panties on and tackle the more tedious tasks in life. To help you reconnect to that inner joy you used to experience, try journaling. It doesn’t have to be a big drawn out affair. Just keep some notes in an app on your phone like the iPhone app “Notes.” During the day when you find yourself doing a task that feels good or let’s say a task that sucks less than the others, make a note in your App and describe how it makes you feel. For example, “Had to run down to the mail room and I took the steps. Moving quickly made me feel energized.” That simple. That feeling of being energized is a clue that can lead you to your real treasure, your X Marks the Spot! So, get on it, Nancy Drew! Start sleuthing!
Would you like more information about how to create a life full of possibilities and promise? Check out my FREE Finding Your Life Purpose: 4 Steps to Move You Forward eWorkbook.