Finding the sweet spot

Since having started this blog I’ve had dozens of amazing and profound conversations with people searching for their life purpose, or the meaning of life for them personally. I refer to those who try to find deeper meaning behind the work that they do.

Over the course of the past few months I have coached several individuals who have managed to follow their inner wisdom and define their own “sweet spot” in the work they do in the intersection of their strengths, passions, contributions and fulfillment. The coaching went so well that as a result the word spread and more and more people were coming to me requesting that I help them along the same theme.

SinceI also lead a network of about a hundred awesome women in IBM, some of those inquiries were coming from this group as well. They were looking to find their own purpose behind the work they do and I quickly concluded that there is no way I can realistically serve such an increased demand on 1:1 basis…unless of course we can add an extra hour or two to the day.

I understood that the need was so crucial that I decided to design a coaching workshop specifically for this group as an alternative; not meeting this need was not an option for me. Eventually, last week I rolled the pilot of the workshop to 14 women from the ages of 25 to 42 from five different nationalities, each of which were at a different stage in their career.

Based on the feedback the two hours we spent together – asking powerful questions and finding our own unique answers within – seemed to be more than worthwhile. I made sure we have lots of time for both individual thinking and an exchange in pairs or triads. We wrapped up with a group activity where they had to think of a topic they would present to the world if they were invited to give a TED talk. Their ideas varied from how to build one’s self-confidence to the value and impact of volunteering…

Among the many other questions I asked were the following:

What is your life’s true purpose?

Which of your current activities would you do even if you were not paid to perform them?

It was awesome to see the effect such questions could have on one’s consciousness. Several people realized they already ARE working right from the centre of their sweet spot. Others considered what actions they might want to take to get closer to theirs. Somebody hesitated whether they are in the right place and right industry at all.

I was very happy for both the experience and its outcomes. Raising someone’s awareness about their potential and enabling people to listen to their own inner guidance is a process I always find meaningful. Offering people a fresh piece of “food for thought” is something I highly enjoy. Last but not least, in this way I was actually able to serve all the women that were interested in undertaking such a deep journey into their souls.

Lets be honest: finding your life’s purpose and defining your personal sweet spot may take you more than two hours. Gosh…it took me almost 20 years :) Perhaps that’s why it feels so good to support others to discover theirs?

It is energizing.

It allows me to use my greatest strengths.

It seems to serve others well.

I would do it even without pay.

And, who knows, maybe I would even give a speech on it if someone invites me ;)

So…it must be part of my purpose!

Let me end with Gandhi’s response when he was asked about his message to the world:

My life is my message.

What is your life’s message to the world?

I am curious to hear from YOU! Please share in the comments…

From the sweet spot,

Jana