Find and follow your passion...no matter what!

It has certainly been an interesting couple of weeks, leading me to do some things that I don't normally do. I have spent quite a bit of time in self reflection and pondering what it is that I really want to do with my life. As a graduate of an amazing counseling and career development program, I was taught many times that following your passion is the ultimate career goal. I have actually taken the time to examine my life and sometimes it takes having something "taken away" to help you realize what it is truly important to you and what your passion is. Feeling so many things today I'm feeling scared, alone, in pain, hopeless, but hopeful at the same time. I'm finally making decisions about my future based on my passion and what I think I am good at it, and now I just need to figure out a way to feel as well as possible to accomplish those goals and dreams. My ultimate goal is to open a part time counseling practice dedicated to working with people with chronic health conditions. There aren't many things in life that I feel I am good at or can offer the world, but I am a good counselor and helping others makes me feel better physically and emotionally. I refuse to believe that my life is over at 29 years old and am willing to do what it takes and do my best to convince doctors to do what it takes to allow me to live my life to the best of my ability. If that means brain and spine surgery again, then I'll do it. If it means a hysterectomy, I'll do it. I know my life will never be easy medically and I know I'll never be pain free, but there has to be more to life than just barely feeling like I'm surviving. I want to do more it's my life than sleep through the weekend to be able to make it to Monday and through the work week. I want to do my part to make a small difference in the world and I know how I can do it and know I just need to figure out how to be the best me to be able to do that. I know it will take time, but I am taking steps to work towards my licensed professional counselor license, so that eventually I can do this. I'm not so good at this part, but I'm trying to take it one day at a time, research my options, and make the best decision I can. 

As a counselor, former special education teacher, and person in general, I tend to focus on strengths rather then areas of challenge. I'm great at doing that with other people, but not as great at doing it with myself. Going through my counseling graduate program was an incredible, life changing experience for me. I was able to take many assessments and have many experiences that helped me learn more about myself than I ever thought I would. I also had incredible mentors that continue to be a strong influence in my life. One of the assessments that I took, one that I would recommend to anyone and everyone to take, is the Strengths Finder 2.0. I was never someone who thought of myself as having many strengths or talents. I never really knew how to answer the question of "what are you good at?" I always associated talents with things like playing an instrument, writing, playing sports, etc. Taking this assessment allowed me to see strengths and talents in a whole new light, and gave me vocabulary and language to put words to things I never knew were actually talents of mine. My top five strengths are: learner, discipline, connectedness, belief, and restorative. For those that know me, it's not a huge surprise that my top strength is learner :) The strength that is most relevant to this post is, connectedness is most important. The description of this strength is at the end of the post. Basically, it means that I have faith that there are links between everything and nothing happens without a reason. While I don't enjoy having EDS and all the other conditions that keep appearing, I don't believe that being diagnosed with EDS and having all the experiences I have had, including being admitted to the graduate program I was admitted to when I applied with less than two weeks notice, being assigned the advisor that I was assigned to, writing my thesis on adolescents with chronic health conditions, starting a group for students with chronic health conditions at my university, and somehow ending up as the "chronic illness resource/magnet" at my university. All of these experiences are connected and have led me to finally embrace what my true passion in life is. I don't see this career development as simply a career move or a job. It's my calling in life, a calling that I can no longer ignore and hope to be able to pursue, no matter what it takes or how long it takes.   

If this topic interests you, I encourage you to read Make Your Job A Calling by Brian J. Dik and Ryan D. Duffy.

For more on strengths and career, check out this video by Marcus Buckingham https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jo5Sh2DoVY8

The quote for this post comes from George Eliot. "What do we live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?"

Connectedness

Shared Theme Description

People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all

things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

What makes you stand out?

Driven by your talents, you sense every event is somehow the consequence of a series of actions,

reactions, or lack of actions. You can accept that which cannot be fully explained using logic. You say

there are no accidents. You are confident that things are linked together for a purpose that may or

may not be revealed to you. Because of your strengths, you desire to dictate the circumstances of

your existence. You refuse to be a victim. You aim to leave your mark on the world. Although you

want to be in charge of everything, you realize this is unrealistic. Why? You sense you are somehow

linked to every human being on the planet. Whatever you choose to do or not do affects them. Their

choices eventually affect you. You walk a tightrope between needing to manage every part of your life

and knowing this is impossible. Instinctively, you routinely isolate facts that link ideas, events, or

people. You are especially sensitive to how one person’s optimistic or negative thoughts can affect

the entire human family. This prompts you to pay close attention to what individuals and groups think

and do. It’s very likely that you argue that hard work influences the course of your life more than

anything else. You make your own good fortune by preparing yourself to take advantage of

opportunities as they arise. Each time you are successful, you can outline exactly what you did to

reach a goal. You link together facts, incidents, conversations, or available resources to understand

your accomplishments. You resist the notion that life is nothing more than a game of chance. By

nature, you occasionally sense you are part of something bigger or more important than yourself.

Maybe this conviction influences choices you make in life.