Please Share!
(continued from previous post)
Being unhappy at your job has fabulous benefits, I’m not kidding. For the first time in my life, I started to really grill myself over what I wanted out of my professional life. What made me happy? What sends me flying over the moon with glee? When am I my most content? When do I feel like I’m fulfilling a purpose? What is my particular purpose? That was the BIG question, what is my purpose? I believe we all have a purpose during our limited time here on earth. Something we were just meant to do. There should be a college course that focuses solely on this topic. Yes, it would be an easy A course. But maybe it would get young, immature students who are more focused on their social calendar than their career path or students who are afraid of doing what they really love because they feel the need to conform to standards established by society or their parents, to do some serious soul searching before picking a career. I certainly could have benefited from a course like that. My passions were staring me in the face my whole life and somehow I missed them or didn’t view them as an appropriate career – the words “lawyer or doctor!!” coming from my mother’s mouth ring a bell…
Most of my friends started out in careers that sounded good in theory, but in practice they quickly found out they weren’t for them. Perhaps this is part of the process. Maybe you don’t really know what you love until you know what you hate. Not that I hated being a lawyer per se, I just disliked the particular career path I had embarked upon. I do know this, I have ZERO regrets. Working as a lawyer showed me what I’m capable of. I was instrumental in closing an endless amount of multi-million dollar transactions. Can’t knock that. It may not have been a party but I learned to work hard and I believe that will help me in any career I pursue. It also showed me who I don’t want to be, how I don’t want to act, what values I don’t want to mimic, and what I don’t want out of life, and that has proven invaluable.
It didn’t take long to realize what my passions are. After about 4 years of devoting my entire life, day and night, to my job, I decided it was time for some changes. I was extremely unfulfilled in life and felt I could use some hobbies. I was going to do things I enjoyed doing. So I started volunteering at an animal shelter and horseback riding on the weekends, I bought a fancy digital SLR and enrolled in a photography class, and I started studying Spanish. Why these things? That’s just where the spirit moved me. Who knew those things would go hand in hand with the career I would decide to embark on 2 years later. When you follow your heart, the pieces of your life truly start to fall together.
The more I did, the more evident it became that my true passion, my numero uno, my obsession, my unfulfilled life’s purpose, my true love, my raison d’etre, was animal welfare. It was the strangest feeling, like I was seeing the world through a new set of eyes, like an awakening, yet I hadn’t changed at all. I was just finally seeing, for the first time, who I was all along instead of who everyone else wanted me to be. Telling my friends my newfound realization went something like this…. Me: “Guess what, I think I know what I want to do with my life!!!!”; Friend: “What, work with animals? Of course you do”. Ummm why was I the last person to truly see me? I had been a vegetarian for 10 years (vegan now, but not then), my concern for animals wasn’t new. But for whatever reason, I viewed my love for animals as totally isolated from my identity or my profession. So I kept volunteering, I started reading books about animals, I subscribed to animal magazines I never knew existed before instead the legal ones I “should” have been reading, and I joined every animal rights organization I could get my hands on. I also adopted a dog, the most amazing, intelligent, loyal and handsome dog on the planet (yes, I’m biased & that’s him above). And I began plotting my escape…
Liz,
You are inspiring. You are taking a leap into the world you belong in. So many people are scared to make decisions that will inevitably make them happier and fulfilled. You are proof that a person should not be fearful of his/her true path; instead one should embrace everything they love in life.
I hope that beyond achieving your dreams that others will take a step back to learn from your steps toward happiness. It would do all of us some good to realize that we all need to take a good hard look at ourselves so we can fulfill our purpose in life.
Best of luck my friend. I look forward to reading many more of your entries and hopefully will one day participate in one of your amazing vacations with my little doggy, Laila!
Alex,
Thank you so much for saying that. I do truly believe that we all have a purpose and we should do what we can to fulfill it. Life is so short and time passes so quickly. Everyone has something they just love to pieces and whether you do it as a hobby or as a profession, what’s important is that you do it. It’s helped to have so many supportive people in my life and for that I am forever grateful. Thank you for your insightful and encouraging words, I truly appreciate it!
i know how the focus and desire to permeate good feelings and doing good to others is propelling you forward. i have no doubt your passion will shine through all of your new endeavors. hopefully more people will not only follow in yuor path, but be emboldened to blaze their own as well.
keep it rollin’
Thank you JC, for all the endless support
“When you follow your heart, the pieces of your life truly start to fall together.” … love it and i most definitely aspire to the philosophy:)! I try to open my heart, listen and follow it much as I can. So easy to let life’s demands sometimes take over and veer us off track….but of course we pick up and get back on. It is an endless beautiful practice! To echo many people’s sentiments, you are an inspiration my dear and I am so proud of you!
You have always been a rock for me liz. Amazingly compassionate, always there, always meant the world to me! So glad that you’ve found a venue to let your compassion and wisdom shine through to inspire others.
and btw… TOTALLY agree with a college or rather high school course on finding your passion, listening to your heart, etc. That’s whats inspired me to start a yoga/meditation group with at-risk teen girls at my agency. Hopefully helping them to see their inner light and let if shine!
Way to go mama! Can’t wait to see where this takes you…
xoxo
Ness, thanks for all the love! You are someone who always follows your heart so you set such a good example. Love the yoga/meditation class idea. I’m sure you are helping your girls in countless ways, they are lucky to have you. We should all have a spirit as free as yours!
xoxo
This is a wonderful post and may be one that can be followed up to see how things go
A chum mailed this link the other day and I’m excitedly waiting your next page. Proceed on the top class work.
Thanks so much Venetta!
I saw your web blog via bing the other day and absolutely adore it. Carry on the excellent work.
Thank you Sheena!