Do you remember what you wanted to be when you were little? What you dreamt of becoming?
When I was a kid I wanted to be a writer. Writing was my passion, however after struggling to finish a creative writing course at University, I left feeling faded. I’d gotten a taste of the writing community and didn’t like it. It didn’t seem welcoming or supportive. Instead it seemed cliquey, snobbish and pretentious. I also didn’t feel like I was any good! And so I suffered a lengthy case of writer’s block (I’m talking YEARS) and lost any ounce of confidence I had left.
When you grow up you get a job.
Coming from a working class family of farmers and miners, working hard for the money in a job you didn’t necessarily like was the ‘norm.’
A job was a means to an ends. A way to survive. It’s what your grandfather did, and your father, and it’s what you would have to do. You might not like it but you’d pay the bills, get married, buy a house, pop out a few kids, go on a few holidays, and then you’d get sick and die.
SHIT! Was that really what life was about?
I mean, I wasn’t the atypical girl and for most of my life the last thing I wanted to do was to get hitched, lock myself into a mortgage, and pop out some kiddlywinks. The job on the other hand, well, it would support my travel habit, wouldn’t it?
Moving into a corporate job, I became corporatised and forgot what I really wanted to do in life.
I wore a suit and heels, networked at the local bars, drank coffee, gossiped and worked a shit-load of overtime. Working myself up the ladder, I was pretty awesome at writing business documents, project plans, strategies, epic emails. That was about it. Sapped of all creativity and emotion, I forgot who I really was and even how to write.
My time in the corporate sector wasn’t all bad even though I tend to focus on the bad side of it all because there was a lot I’d rather forget. And sure, I left with a bad taste in my mouth – burnt out, and a shell of the woman I was, but I also left with some awesome, lifelong friends, my now-husband, a lot of wonderful memories, and the inclination I was meant for something different.
I am so much clearer these days.
On what I want. On what I love doing. On my values and priorities. Even on how I want to live.
I’m also clearer on what I don’t want. What I don’t love. Who I don’t want to be around. And on how I don’t want to live. And since I am so much clearer on what they all are, it makes this whole living business so much easier! Admittedly there will be hurdles to jump, fires to put out, and lots of unforeseen – shit – but that’s life. There is a silver lining to every cloud, no matter how shitty. I’m certain of that.
My ‘work in progress’ (or shall I say ‘masterpiece’?) wont be complete until my life’s end. But until that very day I will continue to work at it. To embrace it. To give it my best shot. I will continue to fill my life with things I love. With happiness. With positivity. And I will continue to learn. To grow. To try new things. And to do what I love.
Finding Your Why
I created Finding Your Why to help others like me. To help put them back in touch with who they were before the world told them who they should be. To help them find their why a little earlier then I did!
Finding Your Why is a little workbook chock full of reflective and insightful exercises, exercises that helped me pull my life back together. And no, as you can see, it wasn’t easy (it still isn’t). But in finally waking up and admitting I needed to make some changes in my life, well, that was the start I needed.
I designed this workbook to step you through a process of reflecting on your life as it is now, what isn’t working for you, what is causing you stress and health issues, and what is missing. It will also help you pinpoint your values, priorities, and passions… something a lot of us tend to forget in our busy lives! By the end of your journey (yes, I dropped the ‘j’ word), you will be a whole lot clearer on what’s not working for you and on what you want.
So go on, grab your free workbook. I want you to have it. It really is time to start focussing on you.
