What Are You Born to Do?

This is the first in a series of posts on finding your passion and purpose.

"I feel pressure to find a niche...it feels like being encased in a pressurized suit... Come on! Why am I having such a struggle identifying my unique passions, interests, and gifts?"

~ a fellow "coach cadet" during a Coach the Coach call in our Martha Beck Life Coach Training course

Doesn't it seem that figuring out what you are born to do should be a relatively easy task?

It feels like it should be obvious -- akin to being as plain as the nose on your face. After all, you know yourself pretty well (what you like and don't like, what you are good at and what you struggle with, and what you feel energized by and what drains you), right?

And, everyone else seems to have figured out what their passion is, what makes their heart sing, what they were put on this planet to do ... why is your path to finding your best destiny, then, seemingly so dark and littered with obstacles?

First, full disclosure:  I have, at times (and am very much still on this journey), felt exactly like my fellow life coach trainee whom I quoted above. The act of my authoring this post is not meant to imply that I have it all figured out, and I am now going to impart my grand wisdom. No, far from it. But what I do want to do is start to help you (and in many ways, myself) understand this life purpose and niche business a bit more -- start to untangle some of the knots of confusion and wiggle away any boulders that may have you (and me) stuck.

So, let's start with some comforting news -- we are not alone.

Many (most?) of us are stuck in at least one area of our lives and/or are essentially clueless about what our life passion is. Some are so stuck, in fact, that they are actually numb and are not fully conscious of their plight. So, we are in very good company and can put down any stress over feeling like we are isolated cases.

Next, figuring out what you are born to do is a process, a journey. It is not something you can conjure up right away like your favorite color or fondest memory. There is no amount of willing this butterfly out of its cocoon that is going to result in an earlier birth. It is a puzzle that needs to be worked, played with, and listened to.

It is going to come to you in odd whispers, flashes of insight and intuition, and unexpected moments of sleep and wakeful states. And, for all you instant gratification nuts (ahem), this is going to take a little while -- for some weeks or months, for others, years. So, settle in and relax, there is no extra credit if you finish quickly.

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