How Your Inner Child Can Help You Find Your Purpose
Updated: Feb 7
How did I know I wanted to become a therapist?
I asked myself this in my own exploration of how I found my purpose and passion in life. And I realized the answer resided within my inner child.
See, when I was younger, my favorite things to do were play with dolls and play-pretend babysitter. From a young age, I was fascinated by how people interacted with one another and quickly took on the role of caregiver (SO surprising I ended up in this field, right?)
Looking back, there are so many other signs pointing to my inherent talent (yes, I am proudly tooting my own horn!) in understanding and connecting deeply with others (people and pets alike).
For me, this has manifested in a number of jobs throughout the years: as an ACTUAL babysitter, camp counselor, therapist, coach, and most recently a copywriter.
It appears I'm not alone in these pursuits. In fact, a survey conducted by LinkedIn found that out of 8,000 professionals from around the world, 30.3% were currently in their "dream job" or in a career linked to those plans.
Throughout the different iterations of my career, I have followed what continues to light me up from inside, gives me energy, and what nourishes my soul.
And it changes. What once gave me energy, now depletes me. What I used to dread, now makes me excited. And that’s OK.
I am learning alongside you how to take a step back, tap into the wisdom my younger parts hold, and return to my purpose.
So now it’s your turn to pause, listen to your younger self, & perhaps even find YOUR purpose :)
Here’s some journal prompts to help you:
1. Write about an activity you did often as a kid (ex. play with toy trucks, build sand castles) What's your favorite memory of this activity? Why is it your favorite?
2. Write down 3 words that explain how you feel in your body as you bring up this memory.
3. Write about why you stopped doing this activity. Did you "outgrow" it? Did you begin to focus on other things?
4. When you think of re-engaging in a form of that activity now, what happens in your mind/body? Are there any limiting limiting beliefs that arise?
6. Write down 3-5 jobs that would allow you to incorporate a form of this activity.
Maybe this is where you pause for now.
Maybe you look into the qualifications of those positions and you make steps to start fulfilling them.
What comes up for you as you complete these prompts? Let me know!
References
https://www.cnn.com/2015/01/28/europe/perfect-job-career-childhood/index.html