Pamela Stewart's blog, Escape from Cubicle Nation, is a fun read. She had a recent post that piqued by interest: "Five Easy Ways to Discover What You Are Meant to Do With Your Life." Finally, someone has made it easy for me! So I immediately read the post and here's what I found out:
In order to find your "life's work," the stuff that Jim Collins says you are "genetically encoded to do," you must listen to your true, authentic voice. It usually speaks through our creative selves more than our rational, so get yourself a three-ring notebook and look here for clues:
A "three-ring notebook" ... I'm thinking this means homework. Yet I forged ahead. According to Pamela, take some time to answer these five questions and you'll have insight into what you were meant to do with your life. Here are the questions and my quick answers:
What is your favorite move? Mine is probably "To Kill a Mockingbird" for numerous reasons. I love the story and I can connect to the south as portrayed there.
What are your favorite channels on television? I find myself watching the History Channel, Nick at Night, TNN, and PBS when I get to watch TV which is not often. My favorite types of TV shows are intelligent (well-done documentaries or docu-dramas and movies for grown-ups - not teenagers), along with mindless nostalgia which is where Nick at Night comes in. Give me a black and white episode of the Andy Griffith show any day.
What kind of art museums are you attracted to? I love photography exhibits where the subjects are real people. I do enjoy painting and sculpture but photography tells a story and that appeals to me.
What kind of music do you love? Gosh, this is almost too hard to answer. I guess my favorites are singer-songwriters and almost anything from the late sixties (save the real psychedelic stuff).
What kind of outdoor environment makes you the most happy? Springtime in the south. Trees. Meadows. Flowers.
Those are my answers. I'm still not sure what I'm meant to do with my life. Maybe a documentary filmmaker? Photographer? Storyteller? These questions do make you think.
After you really spend time reflecting on these questions (more time than I have committed to them, that's for sure), Pamela suggests:
Your essential self is intimately connected with your creative self. Review all your notes about your favorite creative endeavors and places. You may be surprised what they reveal about your true life's path.
So, visit Pamela's site and see if you can discern what you're meant to do with your life.
Have a great one,
Barbara Walters Price
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