How I moved from ‘meh’ to ‘great’

I initially wrote this series of newsletters jumping straight from “how I lost my intuition” to “how I found my purpose.” I quickly realized that I skipped an important step – the bridge that took me from being stuck and burnt out to finding my purpose. 

“Purpose” can be romanticized in public forums. The light bulb moment that leads to a founder dropping everything to pursue a new venture. Or a successful career woman who knew exactly what she wanted to do at 22, and has pursued that relentlessly ever since.

That is not my path, and I know that it is not many others. It leaves out the in between – the middle moments in which you’re living more aligned with your values, you feel more energized and inspired and you’re experimenting, getting closer and closer to figuring out your purpose. 

For me, it took several years to get un-burnt out and unstuck, moving slowly but surely away from my Meh phase. I reshaped my career to do work aligned with my strengths, I found time and passions outside of work to recharge my batteries. All giving me the space and energy to experiment with finding my purpose.

In the summer of 2018, I hit a wall. I was in my third year of working as a consultant. It was something I was good at, but I found it absolutely exhausting. I knew I needed to make a change, but had NO IDEA what to do instead. I had moved from a massive consulting firm to a smaller social impact consulting firm in 2017. I thought working on topics I cared about with people with similar values would be the answer. It wasn’t.

As a result, I didn’t trust myself to figure out what was next. I was worried that if I plotted another career move for myself, I would make marginal improvements but wind up somewhere else where I was only marginally more satisfied.

One day, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a college classmate’s post about her career coach, Daisy. She had worked with Daisy to make a massive career pivot and was effusive about how helpful Daisy’s guidance was.

Huh, I didn’t really know career coaching was a thing. But a few days later I called Daisy.

Daisy and I dove into all the personality tests – Myers-Briggs and StrengthsFinders. One of the first results on the test even suggested that I would be a good career coach. I wasn’t ready to make such a significant departure from my full-time role, so I put that aside for a while.

My main takeaway from the tests was that I liked working with people. I would be good at and energized by roles that helped others be successful. That got me thinking and low and behold, a few weeks later, my company began recruiting for its first-ever Head of People + Culture.

I raised my hand for the opportunity and transitioned into the role a few months later. I was trying out a new function, but doing it in a low-risk environment at the company I knew well and in which I already had credibility.

That began a four-year journey in which my work and personal life felt pretty great. I was, in fact, extremely satisfied working in a role focused on people. Many of the things that burnt me out in consulting such as client management and market research fell away. It also served as a launching pad for more and more leadership opportunities, evolving into a Chief of Staff role that I loved. 

At the same time, making this professional change brought ease to my personal life. I was able to sign-off my email at night, no longer needing to be uber-responsive to my clients. Because I was doing work that I liked, the role naturally recharged my energy giving me the oomph I needed to invest in other areas of my life. I began reading voraciously again, reconnecting with my childhood passion. And, I had the time and energy to work on my coaching side hustle. 

I knew it wasn’t perfect, but it was close to Great, sustaining me for many years. 

I wouldn’t have been able to find my purpose without taking this bridge. I could have never jumped directly from consulting into full-time coaching. I didn’t have the skills, experience or conviction. I needed to make changes to my life  to sustain me as I gradually found and pursued my purpose. 

If you’re at a similar point – stuck, trying to find your purpose and too overwhelmed to move forward – find your bridge. Figure out what small steps you can take to move you forward. 

Stay tuned next week for how I found my purpose.