A new season is upon us (finally!) and with any new season comes the opportunity for deep reflection. While we are in search of purpose in our lives, we need to look inside to discover what makes us tick, gives us goosebumps, and gets us going. We must first do an internal deep dive to truly know our strengths and values before determining the issues that we care about and the strategies for how we choose to make an impact. I have spent some time this month both thinking and writing about purpose, passion, strengths, and the underpinning of it all- gratitude. I am eager to know how these reflections resonate with you.
Inspiring Purpose
Everyone has an opportunity to create their own Greater Purpose Statement (GPS). Often, this works begins by peeling back the many layers that we have acquired during our lifetime. The simplest way to get started is to remember who you are at your essence. What inspires you? What are you proud of? When are you at your happiest? For what are you most grateful?
Read here to learn more about Inspiring Purpose: Crafting Your GPS.
Integrating Passion
There can be a tension around the advice offered to college graduates and people in career and life transition to “follow your passion”. What does this mean? Is this a viable guiding principle? When operating within a framework to determine what’s important in your career and in your life, you can find ways to meaningfully engage in something larger than yourself.
Read here to learn more about the framework for Integrating Passion.
Igniting Strengths
You may be wondering where to begin. Perhaps you have a sense of what you’re good at because these operating strengths have been reinforced throughout your life. There are many instruments that serve as a mirror to reflect back to us what serves us well. Operating from your strengths tends to lead to greater engagement and overall success.
Read here to learn more about tools for Igniting Strengths.
Inviting Gratitude
While knowing your purpose could feel daunting, it’s the little things that truly make our lives matter. The greeting my dogs give me when reentering the house; the smell of coffee brewing in the morning; the way the light streams into the woods during my daily walk; the sound of a friend’s voice over the phone; looking forward to a girl’s weekend away. What are you grateful for?
Read here for taking the step toward Inviting Gratitude.
Essential Leadership: Coaching for Purposeful Engagement
The coaching approach towards purposeful engagement focuses on the deep internal dive as well as the external strategies to engage. I was recently inspired by Marilee Adam’s book, Change Your Questions, Change Your Life. The book focuses on the unique power of inquiry- asking the best questions to inspire the most desirable results in both personal and professional lives.
Read here for a book review of Change Your Questions, Change Your Life.
Do you want to explore your purpose further? Do you have friends, family, clients who would benefit from this approach and this work? Schedule your 20 minute complimentary call so that we can collectively determine how we should move forward together.
For a quick overview of Essential Leadership, take just one minute now.
I look forward to our continuing conversations.
Warmly,
Amy Tress Holdsman
President and CEO
Essential Leadership