Life Purpose and Legacy

A good friend and coworker went through a coaching certificate program a few months ago. As part of the program, the participants were to do work with clients for a few hours. She offered us any of her classmates who needed to meet this requirement.

As I was struggling for awhile in where I would like to focus my career, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to work with a career coach. I partnered with her classmate who just so happened to be a few years ahead of where I am right now, and where he was then.

My boss likes to tell me that I have a perfect mix of skills, but when choosing a grad program, those two sets of skills aren't combined. I could either pursue a degree in Instructional Design, or one in Organizational Development. Both had their merits and benefits, and both would be beneficial to the workplace, but I couldn't come to a decision. But, after working with my coach, I was able to decide on Organizational Development, and am in the middle of applying.

I have two more meetings with him, and my homework assignment was to complete a worksheet called "Life Purpose and Legacy". These questions seem simple at first, but on second look they are very hard to answer. I have to giggle, because during our first meeting he had me dissolved into tears as I was crying about how I just want to help people when he attempted to ask me one of the questions.

I think I'm in a better place now to answer them, and thought it would be fun to share:

1. What values/principles are most important to you?

• Learning and education
• Respect for self and others
• Kindness toward others
• Compassion and empathy
• Success in a career
• Family and friends
• Fun
• Total awareness of self
• Integrity and Trust
• Faith

2. What things in life excite you and provide the most fulfillment?

I have a lot of energy and excitement anytime I'm about to learn something new, or undertake a challenge. I like to figure things out, and wonder why they are happening, and what human emotion went into making those decisions.

People excite me, I enjoy working with them and helping them uncover who they really are. Anytime I get to use my creativity to solve a problem or think outside of the box provides fulfillment.

I'm most fulfilled when I'm with the people I love and we are trying something new. I like the connection that comes with going through experiences together. It's a bond that won't ever be broken. I also find fulfillment when I'm giving of myself to others.

3. What things in the world concern you most?

Currently the blatant lack of respect that people have for each other and most importantly themselves. It's a very selfish world that we live in, and I'm not a selfish person, so I sometimes have a hard time relating. I think this is why I like to figure people out so much, because they are doing something that I wouldn't normally do, and I want to know where the difference is coming from in their lives.

I'm also concerned with how easily everyone gives up. Maybe I'm just more stubborn than other people, but I don't think anything comes easy, and you have to work at it.

The level of apathy in people has increased. No one seems to care anymore about anything.

4. How can you use what provides you the most excitement/fulfillment to impact what concerns you the most?

I think I can only lead by example. Staying true to who I am, and what I find important is the only way to impact the lives of others.

Currently I work with young adults in my church's Confirmation program, and it's a struggle with them every week to feel passion and energy about anything. They have such a disrespect for everyone, that I feel as if I need to be the adult to help them see what they are doing, since they are not getting it from home.

I think through my future work, and my decision of a career path, will really help me have an impact on a lot of people quickly. Leadership development basically emphasis all of the things that are currently missing in the world that I have concern about.

5. Legacy: What do you want to leave for others after you are gone? What impact do you hope people will say you made in their life? Be specific.

I think that I want people to say that I challenged them and helped them. That I made them see something that they couldn't see for themselves and their lives improved because of it. I want to have taught the skills that changed a person's path and made them into an even better person or leader.

I want to leave humor, and the ability to not take yourself so seriously.