The topic of being aligned with your beliefs, your values, and your passion can be a scary one to delve deeper into. Why? Because it’s something that we hear a lot – “to follow your passion” but it’s not something that always feels realistic depending on our life circumstances.
I want this post to challenge you – I want you to look at things differently and to reframe your experiences. I want you to really ask yourself, what is limiting you? Is it really your circumstances that prevent you from doing what you love or doing work that feels aligned with your core beliefs and values? Or is it you that’s stopping you? Your inner critic, your fears of failure, your fears of the unknown, or your belief that you just can’t do it?
What kind of life do you really want to lead? I want to lead a life of hard work, of compassion, of good character, of human connection. I don’t want to look back on my life and wish I did things differently or wish I didn’t take the easy way out.
I want to always live a life that feels good. That feels right. I want to contribute in a meaningful way. I want to do work that I believe in with clients that really need me. Clients that really need someone who is willing to believe in them and to invest in their success along with them.
I took a temporary job at the beginning of the year – a contract position to fill in for a leave. It was right for my circumstances – I was a sole income supporting myself and my partner, I needed something more stable to support my business when it was just launching, and I needed to do some work that would be easy for me to learn quickly. There was a purpose for this position. The problem comes in when that purpose dissipates and is no longer there. When the purpose for doing something is fulfilled, then you need to ask yourself some big questions.
What am I going to do now? Why am I still here in this position? What is my purpose? Am I doing meaningful work? Am I contributing and helping? Am I happy? Is this aligned with my core values and beliefs?
Every day, I get in the car and I drive myself to work. I follow the same route and I can get there easily – there are no questions. Now I get in the car and I find myself longing to go somewhere else. I don’t know where I’m going in the future and I don’t know what path I’ll take, but I do know one thing: I am in control of that car and I am in control of that path. I won’t feel sorry for myself for following the easy way and for doing work that’s not challenging – I will push myself. And if you need a push to get yourself back on track, I’m here for you too.
I want to tell you that success is not linear (especially in our society and economy today) - your idea of success, accomplishment, and what feels right and good is not something everyone will understand. Not everyone is going to get it. Not everyone will approve. I want you to do it anyway. Pursuing a coaching business is not something that everyone in my life fully understands or believes is a stable way to make a living, especially because I've held some really great jobs that have given me good financial stability in the past. What I do know is that this coaching business is one of the only things in my life that feels fully aligned with my beliefs and values now. Even though it is an unconventional path that comes with many challenges, it feels right to me.
I've never been a person who could look at a job as "just a job" - a way to earn a living and then come home to my life. I've always looked at my job and my career as a way to impact society, strive for social change, make a difference in my community, do work I'm proud of that I know is really helping, and be able to support others through limiting life circumstances. I've been that way for as long as I can remember and it's at the core of who I am. I will admit that I have tried to change that (which is something I'm not proud of) and I've tried to look at my job as less central to who I am as a person. I've tried to take a job as just a job and as a means to an end, but it's never worked for me. I always feel a huge values disconnect which has the potential to lead to career regret, which can be detrimental and is a topic for another day.
More than anything, I want my clients to find meaning and success on their career journeys – whatever that looks like for them. I want them to let go and follow their passion. To practice self-care and self-love. To attract what they want into their lives. Don’t doubt yourself – believing you can do it is truly half the battle. I don’t want you to wish things were different. I don’t want you to sit there wishing for a different job or a different life. I want you to have the strength and belief to build that life and career you want on your own.
The easier way is not the better way. If you feel like every day you are following the same old routine and you don’t like it, then stop it. It doesn’t have to be that way. My routine has changed drastically in the last few months – I wake up, do a workout in my living room, hop in the shower, eat a healthy breakfast with a television show, and then pull out my laptop to get to work on my coaching business. I can get all of this done by 11:00am and it feels good. I feel accomplished early in my day and that allows me to continue to be productive and creative as my day goes on. It wasn’t easy to adopt a healthy and happy morning routine that works in my personal life circumstances but with determination and commitment, you can get there.
Reframe those circumstances that limit you and see another way. Do you want to look back on your life twenty years from now and wish you made a change or wish you did things differently? Don’t sit there wishing – reach out to me and let’s start doing!
Sending you lots of love and strength for the week ahead, Sabrina
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