I believe we all have a purpose on this earth. It’s something we are born with. It’s been with us all along.
I also believe we are always being guided towards fulfilling our purpose. If we look closely enough, if we pay attention there are clues.
Unfortunately, most of us, like myself, don’t pay attention. We are so busy trying to make something of ourselves and adhere to the expectations of society that we don’t notice the signs all around us pointing us in the direction of our purpose.
When I look back on my life now, with all the knowledge and wisdom that hindsight provides, I can clearly see the signs of who I was ultimately meant to become.
I see the little nudges and inclinations that I dismissed as “silly”. I see the ideas that I never acted on. It’s honestly so cool to see how these parts of me were there all along.
Here are some of the moments that stand out to me.
I was a psychology weirdo
For one of my birthdays in high school I asked for a subscription to Psychology Today. Instead of reading Seventeen magazine and learning about the latest makeup trends I was nerding out about the evolutionary basis for the fear of rejection and how to access flow states.
It came in the mail every other month and I would look forward to each new edition for weeks immersing myself in a genuine fascination for how the human brain works and why people do what they do.
I had a secret obsession with personal growth
I was secretly obsessed with personal growth. Before I could drive, I would have my parents drop me off at Books-A-Million on the weekends to do homework.
While I was taking breaks, I would walk through the self-help aisle wanting to read every single book. It seemed like a treasure trove full of information I was dying to know. All the titles spoke to me, but I was too embarrassed to actually buy any of them.
Years later, I purchased my first “self-help” book The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. In the book she talks about her year long experiment to improve her standard set point of happiness and experience more joy in her everyday life.
From the very first page I was hooked. I loved the idea of intentionally designing your life to maximize your joy. I was so intrigued to learn about what factors actually contribute to happiness.
Inspired by the book, I decided to create my very own happiness project. I made a theme for each month of the year, created spreadsheets and resolutions and a tracker system, but ultimately didn’t follow through because I got busy with my college classes. Still, this was my first experience diving into the magical world of personal growth.
What I wanted to be when I grew up
In high school, when I talked about my future career, I would tell people I wanted to be a doctor, but I also had other ambitions.
I (weirdly enough) dreamed about using my medical degree to be a freelance writer for health magazines. I loved the idea of using my medical knowledge to educate the public and creating actionable tips to help people live healthier, happier lives.
I wasn’t drawn to the actual practice of medicine in the hospital, but rather to the med celebrities like Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I loved the way he was able to use his bigger platform to educate and inspire people to live healthier lives.
A passion for motivation
I loved motivational quotes. My friends used to make fun of me in college because my pinterest boards were filled with motivational quotes. Instead of pinning ideas for weddings or home decor, I was always drawn to beautifully written quotes that inspired me.
I think this points to how much I value tapping into your full unlimited human potential and also how much I appreciate the poetry of beautifully strung together words.
I was always coaching people
I loved coaching people into positive mindsets, although I didn’t call it that at the time.
One of my college friends was studying to retake the MCAT and I wanted to help her get a higher score. I made her a CD full of hype songs and a “WIN” sign to hang over her door. Every time she walked out of her apartment I instructed her to jump up and high five the win sign. I told her that by doing this she was getting herself into a positive mindset and embracing the physiology of a winner.
She scored 7 points higher on this round of the MCAT and it made me weirdly happy thinking that maybe my interventions made a bit of a difference.
I would also frequently call people out on their negative mindsets (its possible I was a very annoying friend….). Anytime someone would say they couldn’t do something I would reply “not with that attitude you can’t”. I think it’s so funny to look back and see how I was already attuned to the power of mindset without ever formally learning anything about it.
I always dreamed of blogging
I always wanted to start a blog. In college I had the idea of starting a lifestyle blog I was super excited about. Each month I was going to read the Cosmo magazine, implement all of the tips and tricks they shared into my daily life and write about my experiences. But…. I never ended up doing it.
Then in my 3rd year of medical school I wanted to start a blog again to share stories of my patients and life in the hospital. I looked up other famous medical blogs, started coming up with blog names, but then never followed through because I got worried about violating HIPPA and didn’t want to get in trouble.
Clues to your purpose are everywhere
When I look back through all of these stories from my past, I don’t see them as random moments. I see them as clues pointing in the direction of my purpose. They were signs that I loved writing, was fascinated by human psychology and mindset and was drawn to the idea of living a better, happier life and helping others do the same.
Because I was so busy blazing through the pathway of premed to med school to residency, I never stopped to pay attention to these clues. I never wondered, “hmmm what does it mean that I’m fascinated by these topics?” I just ignored them and carried on with my already chosen career path.
Hopefully reading through my story, you can start to see some of the clues in your own life. What are the things that fascinate you? What are you curious about? What are the ideas that you’ve suppressed? What did you love to do when you were younger- before all your adult responsibilities took over? What’s been there all along for you?
All of these things are clues leading you to your purpose and to your path of ultimate career fulfillment.
What kind of clues or patterns are coming up for you? Commebt below and share!
