Rediscovering Self: Navigating Career Fulfillment and Personal Authenticity

Several years ago, in what I refer to now as my previous life, I was recognized for my contribution to the success of the company I worked for.? In front of a few hundred people, the leaders presented me with a token of their appreciation for the program I helped create that resulted in the company’s exponential growth and financial achievements. Instead of a plaque, a certificate, or a statuette, the award I received came in the form of a designer bag that cost a few thousand dollars.?

I didn’t expect the award, so I had no speech planned.? Up on stage and behind the podium, I couldn’t see anyone’s faces.? The lights that accompanied the cameras filming the occasion were blinding.? That was probably a good thing for my nervousness, sort of the same effect as picturing everyone naked.?

My speech was short and mostly filled with thank you’s.? Thank you for the recognition.? Thank you to my team.? Thank you for the opportunity.?

I couldn’t help but notice that the words coming out of my mouth seemed like they were coming from somebody else.? I wasn’t connecting to my words, I wasn’t connecting to my body.?

And no, I wasn’t on any controlled substance, nor was my alcohol consumption anywhere near dangerous limits.?

But at that moment, I felt like I was witnessing myself outside of myself.? There was a gap between what I was doing and what I was feeling.?

I should have felt elated, I should’ve felt proud, I should’ve felt grateful.

Instead, I felt like the person making the speech was an impostor.? That wasn’t me.? That wasn’t really who I was.? I wasn’t sure who I was.?

But I knew it wasn’t the person making that speech and being given that Burberry bag.?

The bag itself was another tipoff, another sign that something was out of alignment.? I have nothing against status symbols.? It was just never my thing.? When the symbol for my achievement was something I did not even value, I also had to wonder if my career itself was even what I truly wanted.

It took another few years for me to change direction.? Change is hard.? A steady paycheck that gives you a form of security is hard to let go of.? Our minds crave security.? It wants guarantees.? It wants to feel safe.? And it mistakes certainty for safety.

I also didn’t know what to do next.? But there was one thing I did know - that the next company or the next job was never ever going to be the answer.?

I knew I wanted to work for myself, but doing what?? To get to that answer, I first had to know myself.? I had to get to the core of who I truly was.?

“Sometimes to move forward, we have to go backward.”, Martin Luther King Jr.

The path to knowing oneself isn’t easy. You’ll bump into your fears, wounds, traumas, and limiting beliefs.? You’ll come across people who don’t believe in you.? You’ll encounter parts of yourself that don’t believe in you.?

But you will also rediscover your hopes, passions, and dreams.? You will find out what makes you truly alive.?

You will connect to your purpose. You will find more moments of happiness.?

Happiness is not something that happens when, but rather something that is experienced in the moments you choose.?

Life will take on a richer, fuller, and deeper hue.?

I don’t mean just in your career.? I mean your entire life.

If you’re feeling like you’re on automatic pilot.? Or fantasizing about retirement.? Or you’re getting the Sunday scaries.? Or worse, you’ve become apathetic.? It’s time to go backward.?

You were meant to have a fulfilling life.? Or at the very least, you were meant to have your own life.?

To have your own life, you must know who you are.

How do you get back on your path?

1.???? ?Pay attention to your feelings and your body.? Are you feeling anxious or stressed?? Are you catching colds or other viruses too easily or often?? Do you have aches and pains that can no longer be ignored?? Something is amiss.? The physical is connected to the mental, emotional, and spiritual.? Too often the body emits the loudest signal because we ignored something that we should’ve paid attention to earlier.

2.???? Explore your inner world.? Start a meditation practice.? Go on a spiritual retreat.? Embark on a journey of personal development.? You’ve heard of neuroplasticity; our minds are still malleable.? We can make it work for us.? We’ve been programmed through our upbringing or through society to see our limitations instead of seeing the possibilities.? We’ve made our minds the master instead of the servant it was meant to be.

3.???? Commit to yourself.? First, know what your true values are.? You may think that everyone wants the same thing, a big house, high career status, and a billion dollars.? But what you truly want may not be any of that.? So here you are climbing a mountain, setting a goal, aiming towards things that won’t even fulfill you.? To know what you want, you need to do step 2 above (explore your inner world).? But to speed things up a bit, get help.? There are life coaches, therapists, healers, and spiritual teachers who have walked the path before you and can offer guidance.? And secondly, decide that you are worth it.? You are not living your life for anybody else.? You’re living it for you.?

In this confusing and turbulent world, life can be overwhelming.? But things get easier when you know who you are.? Security no longer comes from the external. It is cultivated from within. It's the kind of safety that no one can take away from you. And that alone is worth making the change.