When Your Work Aligns With Your Purpose
How often have you had that moment of confluence – the collision of two ideas that suddenly make you realize a connection that may have always been there, but now becomes clear? I’ve just experienced this around purpose. Purpose is one of those words that can feel a bit “woo woo”, if you know what I mean. Sometimes I’m a bit chagrined if I find myself talking about purpose. This month I attended the National Speakers Association Influence conference. It’s one of my favorite events of the year. As a 22-year member of NSA I look forward to seeing friends, resetting my plans, and most importantly, reconnecting with my purpose. I believe we all have a purpose, and even when it changes over time, knowing that purpose is a privilege.
My purpose burns with passion for my work and touches everything because my purpose is to teach others and enhance lives through sharing information. Now I know there is an old saying about those who can’t do, teach – but that is wrong! It’s in the doing that you develop the understanding and knowledge that you can teach to others. This purpose is shared through my speaking opportunities, QEP cohort courses, and writing. Everything I do is in service of my purpose of teaching others. Even when my daughters were young, I knew my purpose was to teach them to be strong, smart, and independent, which they are experiencing now as adults. So to reconnect with my purpose (and my people) last week was a great joy.
This week I received a recommendation from our newest CCMP™, one of my recent students, and her words truly humbled me: “The Springboard Consulting/Ready, Set, Change! Exam Prep is the all-time best credential exam prep course I have ever taken. They combine virtual class sessions with asynchronous sessions, there are case-based assignments, innumerable quizzes, a full-length exam, mailed custom exam prep materials, and weekly office hours where you can discuss any course work or change management examples from your work. April is truly a master change professional. Not only does she know the CCMP material inside and out, she can also coach students through any change management challenge they are currently facing. As she gave advice or walked through case examples, I was impressed with how deeply principled April is in serving organizations holistically. Her responses always included multiple perspectives and she always assumed positive intent -- that much of the friction or irritation felt was likely a result of confusion or an unmet needs. My background is primarily project management, so I was a bit nervous going into the Ready, Set, Change! Exam Prep course. I discovered there are real and important differences between the two fields, even though they are highly complementary. The sessions, materials, and personal support of the course helped me to take my exam with confidence and pass!’
The impact of being focused on purpose along with the recognition of this same purpose in my assistance to Megan makes my heart sing with joy. It’s surprising to me that I used to struggle with identifying my purpose – it seems so clear to me now. How about you? Do you know your purpose? Where do you find joy? Can you align what brings you joy with your day-to-day responsibilities?
We live in a busy culture, where it’s easy to lose sight of our purpose. Resetting and reconnecting to purpose is important work that we often see as extraneous. Be intentional about reconnecting to purpose to impact others in a positive way.
