The Fallacy Of Finding Your Passion & Purpose

Are you looking for your purpose? Your passion? The thing that will make your career meaningful and fulfilling? The place where you can really make an impact?

If so, this article is for you.

I searched for my thing for years. I was on a quest to discover my passion, the ONE thing that would be the guiding north star in my entire career.

In college I thought that thing was the environment. I studied conservation biology and started my career teaching environmental education in New England.

After I got my master's degree in Human Resource Development, I thought that thing was helping to make workplaces as engaging as possible - this is why I worked in corporate leadership development and HR for 10 years.

When I started my business, my thing because guiding women to break the rules you've been taught so you can share your authentic voice with the world - and change the world in the process. (And get more joy in your life. I'm all about the joy, too )

And you know what I realized through all of this?

I will never have ONE thing!

I have no idea how I EVER thought I would have just ONE passion and purpose in my career. NOTHING in my life has been singular.

There were times in my early 20s when I had six different W2's from four different states in a single year!

Even though I stayed at my companies for a good amount of time in my corporate career, I job hopped around like a frog on steroids. I had EIGHT different jobs during my ten years in corporate.

On top of that, I've always found just as much purpose from things OUTSIDE of work as anything I've done in my career.

You might be someone that has a singular passion and focus in your life. If so, that's awesome. If that one thing keeps you engaged and excited - keep doing it. We need people who go deep into their fields for decades.

But if you're like me - that's awesome too!

You DO NOT have to find ONE thing to commit your career to in order to be fulfilled or make a difference.

Instead of getting stuck in the search for your ONE thing, look for where you find purpose and fulfillment NOW.

That step will lead to the next - and to the next. Everything you've done will become of a part of what you do in the future. Nothing is lost. Give yourself permission to explore and meander.

If you want to dive deeper, click on the button below to get 10 journaling prompts to reconnect to yourself and discover where to explore next.