Finding purpose in a time of uncertainty

The current climate we’re in is certainly testing the resilience of the event industry and, everyone who works within it, from planners to suppliers, agents to venues. It’s a troubling and uncertain time for all of us, and we will almost certainly be looking for things to do to fill the void that has been created, where once work and event planning sat.

Purpose is one of the five ways to building resilience, complimented by self awareness, mindfulness, relationships and self-care. To suddenly find ourselves not working, whether this is because you now find yourself on furlough or have unfortunately been made redundant, can have a big impact on this resilience balance and, your mental health and wellbeing.

If you want to maintain balance in your life and lead a fulfilled, happy and, content life, it’s important that you learn how to find your passion and your purpose. Without purpose as a life compass to guide you, your life goals may not ultimately fulfil you.

Each of us has and is born with a life purpose and, for some that life purpose is obvious and clear. As mum to a young child and, watching her love of singing and performing, I can see a future in the arts for my daughter. She is displaying natural talents that are clear indicators of what she could ultimately end up being passionate about.

One of the tips I give out when I speak about building resilience is that when you are creative as event professionals undoubtedly are, in order to find balance outside of our work and that passion and enthusiasm that we display in the work that we do, it is important to find something that you are good at outside of work. This will help you switch off from the day and, channel your creativity and passion into something you enjoy and love outside of work, helping you find natural balance in your life.

When I was growing up reading, art and music were my very clear passions and talents right through my childhood. My love of art is channeled into the design work I do as a marketer and event professional and, my love of music and reading is reserved for my personal life and my enjoyment, playing instruments and flute, which I have played since I was 5 and, using music and reading as a relaxation and self development tool. This gives me the balance I need and, aids my resilience.

For some people, though those passions are so not easily defined and, it’s not always as easy to identify your passions. I’m sure there are many who have asked, “What should I do with my life?” or “What is my life purpose.”, even those with clear natural talents and abilities.

Here are my top tips for finding passion and purpose.

1. Think about the things you love and, what comes easy or naturally to you?

I believe we are all born with a purpose and meaning in life and, there are many that would agree with me, you just need to find it. It’s not something that you have to make up, as believe it or not it is already there.

To help you find it try making a list of all the things that you love and all the things that come naturally to you. From that list make a commitment to try out a new activity that covers these loves and natural abilities and, practise regularly.

Remember that even the most talented musicians have to practise regularly to maintain or even grow their talents.

2. Create a ‘life purpose statement‘

This can be like a mission or vision statement for a business or an elevator pitch that you use when you introduce yourself in a professional setting. Imagine doing the same thing in a personal setting, like when meeting someone for the first time at a social gathering.

A life purpose statement will help you get from where you are to where you want to go, and having a clear vision for yourself personally will keep you on track to help you to achieve these new personal goals. Use a journal or planner to keep a record of your statement and keep referring to it to remind yourself.

3. Plan your joy!

Michelle Obama (amazing lady) is credited with this one, in that as well as planning our careers and our professional direction, we should also be planning our JOY. This is also all about finding our passions and natural abilities and planning to do more of it.

Think about all the times you have experienced joy, write these down in a list, and then think about how you can incorporate more of this joy into your life. Was it a book that you read, or a film that you watched, or an experience with a friend or loved one.

By planning and incorporating more of this into our lives, we constantly have a bank of things to look forward to and to plan for.

A closing word

Occasionally, you might want to pause what you’re doing and reflect on whether you feel like the path you are on is taking you in the direction you want to go. Sometimes the road to finding purpose will have a few turns and forks along the way.

Remember to take things one step at a time, finding purpose should be a lifelong journey, as you grow professionally and personally over the years.

Remember also that finding purpose doesn’t necessarily mean you need to change what you are doing, although a clear change indicator would be that you simply don’t enjoy doing what you are doing anymore. If this is you then you should simply change course.