In my role as a CEO and as I work with individuals as a Next Chapter coach, I am asked the following questions every week – simple-enough questions, but if they are asked in an environment of change, uncertainty, toxicity, or stress, they can become debilitating.
If you are in a stressful situation or a crossroad moment, see if any of them resonate with you, and I’ll offer a way to find answers that are relevant for your situation:
- What should I do next?
- When should I do it?
- Should I say yes, or no?
- How do I create work/life balance?
- How do I deal with a difficult person?
- How much should I charge/ask for?
- How do I get hired/asked?
- What should my bio or cover letter include?
- How can I be less stressed?
- How can I stop [fill in the blank]?
While each of these questions are asked in very different circumstances, by very different people, the answer must always come from a clear vision of what your “Point B of Impact” is and why that impact is so important to achieve (and to whom).
The answer is always the SAME:
“It depends: what do you (really*) want and why?” *Here’s my secret/caveat: your answer to this question must be deeper than saying you want a new job title, or salary amount, or to be valued, or to finish a project. And – rather than being guided by “shoulds” and the expectations of others – what you want must be informed by the unique way you create impact on others when you are feeling joy.
“Your purpose is not a business or a cause – those are just “vehicles” for delivering your impact. Your purpose is the impact you have on others when you are feeling joy. Find that sweet spot, know it, nurture it, share it. – Kathryn
Therefore, the underlying barrier to answering your big questions, may be a profound lack of critical and foundational self-knowledge:
- What IS the impact you know how to (and love to) create… when you show up fully?
- What do you need internally & externally to create the possibility for that impact and joy to occur every single day?
- What is the value of the impact you know how to create? (In terms of dollars, time, prioritization, or even acknowledging and valuing it yourself!)
- How do you find the very people and organizations who need the impact you know how to create and that you love creating?
Reframing goals and measures of success through a lens of impact changes the questions we ask ourselves, and the paths we choose.
Valuing and knowing the impact we have on others when we are feeling joy, changes the strategies and tactics we choose and the decisions we make.
Making this shift can be very challenging to do on your own.
Your impact and your purpose hide in plain site, already there, waiting to be revealed.
Limiting beliefs, assumptions about what is and what is not possible, expert advice, industry data can all keep you from seeing what already IS. Your expertise in DO-ing rather than seeing the value in your BE-ing can keep you on a never-ending hamster wheel.
As always, let me know what thoughts this blog brings up, and how YOU are navigating life’s big questions.
To your success!
Kathryn
Next Chapter Coach
Creator of The Career (Life!) Breakthrough AcademyTM
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