“Purpose doesn’t hide from us. We hide behind what we think success should look like.”
After exploring the turbulence of The Mid-Career Shift, a single question keeps surfacing: “How do I find my purpose?”
You’ve earned the respect, the title, the experience, yet something inside whispers that you’re not where you’re meant to be. This isn’t confusion. It’s calling. And for many, it often begins with discomfort.
1. The Purpose Paradox
The paradox is simple: We were taught to build careers that make sense, not lives that make meaning.
Purpose rarely fits within tidy job descriptions. It’s not a single passion or profession; it’s the intersection of your values, your strengths, and the needs you feel compelled to meet.
In the early years, success is about what you can achieve. In mid-career, it becomes about what you can contribute.
2. Why Purpose Is Hard to Find (And How We Hide It)
Purpose feels elusive because we’re looking for it in the wrong places:
- We equate purpose with position: Yet positions change; purpose evolves. When your title disappears, your purpose remains.
- We expect clarity before action: Purpose is revealed through movement, not meditation alone. You get the map by walking.
- We separate meaning from mastery: In truth, purpose grows where your skill meets someone’s need.
Often, the very experiences you label as detours are actually the breadcrumbs leading you home.
3. The Quiet Clues of Calling
You can begin uncovering your purpose by paying attention to three subtle, repetitive clues in your daily life:
- Emotion: What consistently stirs your compassion or righteous frustration? (This points to the problems you are meant to solve.)
- Energy: What activities leave you feeling more alive and energized than drained? (This points to your natural gifts.)
- Effect: When do people say, “You helped me see differently” or “I feel lighter after talking to you”? (This points to your unique impact.)
Your purpose lies in repetition, hiding the themes that keep returning until you finally respond.
It’s time to let go of the striving and lean into the useful.
“If I stopped striving to be successful and started striving to be useful, what would I do differently?”
Write it down. Don’t edit. Let your intuition speak before logic interrupts. Clarity doesn’t come from thinking harder; it comes from noticing better.
This marks the beginning of our new mini-series, ‘Navigating a Purpose-Driven Career.’ We will guide you through six steps to uncover, clarify, and align your life’s work with your deeper calling. Because the question isn’t just “What’s next?” it’s “What matters most?”
If this resonates with you, please share your reflections in the comments. What whisper of calling have you been trying to ignore?
Ready to move from awareness to alignment? Join the Mid-Career Reinvention Circle™, where we turn purpose discovery into a lived practice. Join the Circle
Next Week
We’ll explore “Unmasking Misaligned Success When Achievement Hides Disconnection.”
#PurposeDrivenCareer #MidCareerReinvention #Clarity #Leadership #RadiantMind #TheMidCareerShift
