Hello and welcome to my humble newsletter, where I attempt to answer questions about career clarity, confidence, driving growth and rooting for others’ success.
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On to today’s topic - finding purpose.
Earlier this year, I came across this 2016 study on the importance of purpose and how a high sense of purpose leads to a more healthy life. Needless to say, I put on my nerd-hat and started asking people around me on the importance of purpose in their lives.
One of the first things we consider assessing during a career transition is our purpose. And contrary to popular belief, our purpose does constantly change.
Here’s my example:
At age 5, I wanted to build the biggest sand castle at a local beach.
At age 12, I wanted to learn how to talk to girls.
At age 19, I wanted to be rich and famous.
At age 25, I wanted to make a difference at my workplace.
At age 35, I wanted to leave corporate to build my own thing.
Some of these sound silly, but the point is that as a kid, the focus was to have as much fun as possible and as an adult, the responsibilities kicked-in.
Each phase of our life will lead to a different purpose.
Childhood → Teenage → First career → Second career → n’th career → Retirement.
Our purpose today won’t remain the same for the rest of our lives.
Over the past few months, I have come to understand that our purpose is driven mainly by five factors. I call it the 5A Impact on Purpose.
Art refers to our capabilities that change over time with learning and seniority.
Associates refer to our ecosystem of people - friends, family, peers, managers, influencers.
Assets refer to our net-worth, income, outgoings, investments.
Aspirations refer to what we find important, our short-term plans and our long-term pocket dreams.
Anonymous refers to all factors outside our control which may help or hinder us along the way.
I now use this framework regularly. During my career, my aspirations and associates have had a major impact leading to career transitions. I moved from Banking to Technology, from Business Analysis to Consulting, from People Management to now freelance Coaching.
This self-driven framework works wonders with my clients. If you wish to use it, I suggest you perform an annual review.
So… you have now figured out what impacts your purpose, and found something promising you want to pursue. What’s next?
Our purpose does not change overnight and for some, not even over a few months.
Take your time.
Encourage constant iterations.
Review your purpose with a confidante or a counsellor
Cross-check if it connects well with your 5As
Acting on a shift in purpose comes with some level of stress and anxiety. Many of us want to stick to the current plan, because it’s safe. And that is okay. You don’t wish to redo things, so you decide to stay put for the moment. Whereas some of us cannot resist the urge to shift gears and start working on our new purpose.
We are all different, our ecosystem is different, our 5As are different.
My answer to this dilemma would be to monitor your new purpose actively, but change attentively. Proactively monitor your surroundings, so you are well aware of any changes. And when ready, take small actionable steps to move towards the new goal-post.
Your purpose is there to give you stability. It is something to hold on to.
How frequently do you assess your purpose?
Can you recall the last time your life’s purpose changed?
If you are finding this valuable, please share the newsletter with your friends.
I would love to hear from you in the comments below or on LinkedIn.
Always rooting for your success,
Zubin 👋
Zubin, you are singing my song! I am going to be devouring your posts! A perfect compliment to my current season. You're on my recommendation list and I'm your most recent subscriber!