In the personal development space we tend to do a ton of self reflection. We examine our lives, our habits, our thoughts, our beliefs, our relationships, and all of the things that we think might be keeping us from moving forward. Inward looking can be good. Wanting to grow and change is a noble endeavor, but there comes a time when it gets to be too much. All of this self-examination could be the very thing that is keeping your from moving forward.
The true magic in life happens when you start looking outward and seeing how you can give to others. Last week on the Imagine the Possibilities Podcast I posted an interview with Transformational Coach Leah Cox. In it Leah described an exercise that she does with clients to help them rediscover their passions. In this exercise she asks clients to make a list of all of their interests and passions. Then she has them look at the original list and pick out all of the things on the list that help others. Those passions and interests that help other people are the things that you can turn into careers.
Click here to listen to the interview.
If you want to earn money doing something you love you need to figure out how to help others doing that thing. What problem can you solve for someone else? What pain can you eliminate for someone else? People will pay you to solve their problems. Those problems can be ginormous problems or they can be small annoyances. The more people you can help the more you get paid. That may sound simple, but in reality it is simple.
Figuring out how to use whatever you are most passionate about to help others isn’t just about making money though. It’s about something much bigger than that. Its about fulfillment. If you don’t feel like you are adding true value to the world, you will not feel fulfilled. If you don’t feel fulfilled, you will not be truly happy.
You can continue to look inward for what is wrong … for what is making a hole in your heart … for what’s missing, but you will never be able to truly fill that part of yourself up until you have figured out what you can contribute to others. How can you make the world a better place?
Honestly, it took me a long time to get this. I had a hard time seeing beyond myself early in life. That fact made my life quite a bit more difficult than it needed to be. All of my reflection and looking inward resulted in depression. I know we all need to learn our own lessons in life, but I don’t want to see you struggle like I did for so long. I want you to live a fulfilling life. I want you to be happy. I want you to know that the world is a better place because you are in it. It is. You have so much more to offer than you even realize.
Believe in yourself and imagine the possibilities.