We’re often bombarded with the advice to “go find your purpose.” It sounds inspiring, but is it actually helpful? Author Candy Valentino challenges this head-on in her book, Wealth Habits:
“I hate to say it, but I have to say it: go find your purpose is just like follow your passions. It’s terrible advice.”
Valentino’s point resonates deeply. She argues that you don’t need to find your purpose because, in essence, you already have it. The constant external search for something we supposedly lack creates anxiety and a persistent feeling of inadequacy. It implies we’re incomplete until we locate this elusive “purpose.”
The key distinction Candy Valentino highlights, I believe, is in the words “GO FIND.” The problem isn’t purpose itself, but the idea that it’s out there somewhere waiting to be discovered, rather than within us, waiting to be acknowledged and expressed. You can’t lack something you inherently possess.
The Pressure of Passion
Valentino suggests that while some people might successfully build careers around their passions, for many, it’s another pressure point. It sets up an expectation that we must find something we love so much that we should monetize it.
Turning a hobby or passion into a job isn’t always the dream it’s made out to be. As Valentino cautions, and as many artists or creators discover, once your passion becomes your livelihood, it involves deadlines, client demands, and market pressures. What was once a joyful escape can become an obligation, potentially dimming the very spark that ignited it. It’s crucial to be certain that’s a transformation you truly want.
Beyond Passion: The Importance of Alignment
So, if chasing passion isn’t the answer, what is? I think chasing what energizes you is the answer. I firmly believe you need to genuinely like what you do; the thing that sparks your energy. It’s being in alignment!
Imagine buying cupcakes from a baker who despises baking, or trying to learn from a teacher who can’t stand their students! The quality of their work, and their own well-being inevitably suffers because there is no spark.
Need vs. Inner Calling: An Idea Explored
This difference between an external motivation (like market need) and an internal calling became clear to me recently. For a few years, I’ve toyed with the idea of opening a cattery. Why? Not out of a deep-seated passion for feline care, but out of a practical need – I wanted a safe, fun, and stimulating environment for my own cat when we travel.
Objectively, it might be a decent business idea. There’s only one other facility near my town, but frankly, it doesn’t meet the standards I want for my spoiled cat, so there could be a market need for another one.
But when I sit with the idea, really considering the day-to-day reality, I know it’s not truly for me. The market might support it, but it doesn’t align with my core strengths or deepest interests. That kind of work is better suited for someone who genuinely loves the hands-on care of cats. My motivation was external need, not internal resonance.
Turning Purpose into Purposeful Living
This brings me to a renewed understanding of work, partly inspired by my husband’s journey. After forty years in manufacturing – a field he didn’t like – his current plant closed, forcing an unexpected career change.
He decided then and there: no more jobs that made him miserable. He took a chance, invested in training that resonated with his personality and natural strengths, and pivoted his career path. Now? He works somewhere he feels valued, enjoys his colleagues, and experiences peace instead of dread. He didn’t “find” a new purpose; he aligned his work with who he already was and what energized him.
This was a point I was trying to get across to a class of 7th graders a few weeks ago; aligning their future with who they naturally are will make life happier for them in the long run.
Looking Inward to Live Outward
Living with purpose, I believe, challenges us to look inward rather than outward. It requires introspection about our personality, our strengths, our deep-seated desires, and our true identity – the person we know ourselves to be beneath the layers of expectation and obligation. When we align our profession with that internal truth, work becomes purposeful.
This is the journey I’m on now. It took time – meditation, prayer, and intentionally seeking out the parts of myself I’d buried long ago simply to find a job. I had to peel back some layers. I’ve always known I’m a teacher at heart; I enjoy it immensely. However, the traditional environments often left me feeling unfulfilled.
Through looking inward, I identified my core components: I am an encourager, a creative, a teacher and a writer. These are all facets of me and I would love to apply them differently than I have been.
So, I combined these core traits with the subjects I’m truly energized by and created Ardmore Creative Studio. Why? Because the public school system wouldn’t provide the space for me to teach what makes me most excited. So, I created my own space.
Is there a proven market need yet? I’m still discovering that. Am I wrong to pursue it? Absolutely not.
This path is an expression of who I am. It’s where I feel most joyful, and I believe that joy is contagious.
Uncover, Don’t Search
So, let’s retire the stressful mandate to “go find” your purpose as if it’s a lost set of keys. Instead, let’s embrace the journey of uncovering it from deep within. Look at your innate strengths, your personality, what brings you authentic joy, the activities where you lose track of time.
Your purpose isn’t hiding externally; it’s waiting to be acknowledged internally and lived out authentically-no matter your age.
Thanks for reading!
Sharon