I’m working in my third career these days. It is a progression that makes sense; I’m utilizing experience from past fields of work every day. I changed industries, I changed work locations, I changed what and how I present. But there is underneath the many changes I’m adapting to, a certainty of purpose.
What is the purpose in your life?
For all the years I’ve been working I see a theme. Simply put, I assist people who are in transition. That is, I point the way, offer new ways of viewing the situation. And then stand back.
Someone asked me the other day if I like to help people solve their problems. My response: Well, No, that’s not it really.
This one thing I know for sure. The ahas (moments of insight) that emerge from you are so much more meaningful than any advice I could give. For each of us there is a certain sanctity to our own inner workings. The wisdom is within. What comes from personal struggle, thought, moments of clarity are at the deepest level for each of us, our true guiding principles.
An old friend, retired from being President of a company and now an Executive Coach, told me he asks clients what their world view is
based on. Its a great question. In this new mixed up world of today where notions of stable career, banks, government no longer work, what is your world view?
And what is your view of how you will live in the uncertain world of today?
My job is to consult with people who have been layed off from their jobs. There are countless people out there giving practical career advice on this topic. But few address the process of internal change that transpires.
A layoff is a huge pause in a life. It is a time of major change. It is also a time of waiting. That is, waiting for whatever is the next step. All the while the doing of it is going on; the seeking, interviewing etc. There is a very real and necessary initial period of pausing, experiencing the emotions and memories, letting go of what no longer exists. A term from psychology is this is a period of dis-identifying from the job and all that it entailed.
As I observe people in transition, something interesting begins to happen. As they move through the steps and the waiting, I hear a questioning of the initial desire to jump back into the same job somewhere else. As they slow down from the pace of the worklife left behind, they begin to pay attention, to listen to themselves, the words they use, the ideas that emerge. There is new awareness of who they are, now, in present time.
A sense of self continues without the job, so identity must be something other (more constant) than the job title and duties that no longer exist. This is when I hear people talk about purpose, passion, a curiosity to expand their sense of self in work and service. Something new bubbles to the surface.
It is awesome to observe heightened awareness contribute to conscious decision making, as step by step they begin to move through the waiting, and walk into what lays ahead.
