How about you ditch finding your purpose and learn to embrace your many talents and interests because that is absolutely what makes you, YOU?!
I have a frustration and I’d like to share it with you; I’m a grown woman who cannot label herself. In the past I would take on my job titles – I think that’s what society expects isn’t it? – and with that I became a…
…Sales Assistant, Receptionist, Designer, Waitress, Teacher, Sales Manager, to name but a few. More titles I’d collected just by being born: Daughter, Sister, Granddaughter, Cousin and Neice. Then, a few years ago, I added a new one to the line-up; Mother. But right now, I am tired of all these limiting labels and the constraints with which they come.
How can one label express accurately who we are?
Never was this so evident than when writing my LinkedIn profile recently or attempting the famous ‘elevator pitch’ (remind me never to discuss my squiggly career path from the confines of an elevator). Technically I’m a designer, because at my core I am creative, skilled at drawing and I have a degree with 10+ years experience in Footwear Design, BUT I’m not actually designing right now. Right now, I’m exploring other interests and the title Designer just doesn’t fit quite so well. It’s no secret that I LOVE personal development, anything to do with freedom, adventure or motorbikes but for a long time I’ve found it really difficult to marry up all of the things, especially under one name or job title, without worrying about how that looks to other people.
Have you been there? What a waste of time. Are you also guilty of worrying too much about what others think? If so, let me share with you what I now know to be true because, having spent too many years fretting over how I come across if I’m a designer (but feel like a misfit the fashion industry), or if I’m creative (but wanting to spend all my days with motorbikes), I’ve finally decided it gets to be different.
Curiosity counts
If you’re growing and evolving as a person it’s natural that you will also gravitate towards different things, people and places at different times in your life. We were never born to stand still but to experience life from every angle. It’s called cultivating curiosity and it’s so damn exciting!
A happy byproduct of this is that, in being actively curious, you also render yourself fantastic at creating connections. You don’t need confidence to connect with people by the way, you just need to find the common ground and that is a million times easier when you have a bank of experiences, adventures and knowledge to draw upon.
I truly believe that we are ALL multi-faceted, multi-passionate, multi-dimensional beings and the sooner the rest of the world cottons on, the better. Yes there is definitely a case for getting good at one thing and doing it really well – that is brand-building at its finest – but let’s also not forget that we, as people, are MORE than just one label and we have far more to offer than the titles we are given. We are the SUM of each one in fact…
Embrace each part of you
So don’t get hung up on finding a purpose or grow despondent when you don’t find it. Life is not a set course meal so treat it like a buffet to sample from. Each hors-d’oeuvre comes with an opportunity for a deeper conversation with someone you probably haven’t even met yet and that keeps things interesting.
Tell me if you agree or disagree. I’d love to hear your thoughts on being more than a one-trick-pony…
Zoe x