Overworked and Under-Earning: How to stop questioning your worth and start earning it (Part 3)

This is the third and final instalment in the series. If you missed the first two articles, you can find them here and here.

In this article you will find out what your driving force is, what the gap is between where you are and what you want, and why you likely haven't received what you want yet.

Our purpose in life: 

Oh dang, here I go getting all deep again. Knowing what your purpose is acts like a guiding star. It cuts to the truth of what you really want without all of the baggage of what our parents wanted for us, what we already know, what we think we should be doing, and what we are trying to achieve to prove our worthiness (through status, money, titles, degrees, etc). 

Once we know our purpose, we can use it to guide our career and see how we truly want to be living our lives. 

So, how do you define your purpose? If you are whole, worthy, loveable and good just as you are, even if you just lay on the couch for the rest of your life, what would fill you up and bring you joy to do in the world? Write it down in one sentence. Don’t spend too much time on this. It isn’t as binding as you are imagining it to be. Simply know and trust that the act of creating a draft purpose will help guide you through actions that will lead you to your true purpose. (Examples: I want to change the corporate culture of leadership. My purpose is to be an example of a heart-centred CEO. I want to save animals. I want to be the best possible mother to my children.)

Who are you showing up as? 

We act out the job we are in, even when we dress for the job we want. It’s time to bust out your journal because we are about to dive deep into the mindset of the job you want. So, think about the below questions and write down your answers. 

What if you made decisions based on a CEO’s (or whatever it is that you want) thinking and mindset? What if you were to structure your day as if you are already the CEO? How would that change the way in which you approach your job? The tasks? What you worry about? What you focus on? What your daily habits are? 

Describe yourself as your goal, living in your purpose. What does your day look like? How do you approach the situations that drive you the most crazy? The ones that you love the most? What is possible from this place?

Where is the gap between where you are now and the CEO version of yourself? 

Who do you need to be and what thoughts do you need to start thinking more often in order to transition from where you are to where you want to be? 

What would it feel like to be in her shoes? How can you bring that feeling to your daily life? 

What actions do you need to take? 

What results do you see yourself getting from thinking, feeling, and acting this way?

You won’t get anything you don’t ask for. 

Let’s review how far you have come: 

• You now understand the driving forces that had you thinking that overachieving was the path to a career (because you have been told it would be enough to get you noticed and spontaneously promoted)
• You know that being an overachiever may make you good at managing people and things, but it doesn’t make you a leader
• You know that you are inherently worthy and no longer need to hustle for it from outside sources
• You have the guidance of a purpose statement
• You know what your future self will think, feel and do. 

Now that you have a solid foundation on which to build your career, all you need to do is ASK! 

This is often the most overlooked step because we slip right back into thinking we need to do it all ourselves. 

Asking for what we need or want is one of the hardest things for women to do, but it is also one of the most vital. Just as we need to put on our oxygen masks first, we need to focus our attention on our excellence and our purpose, and ask for help with the rest. So, ask a team member for some help with a project, or delegate a task to your partner. Contact that person in your network who would give you a great referral or ask your boss for a raise. 

The worst that can happen is they say no and you go back to being the whole, complete, loved and purpose driven woman you now are. 

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