When I handed in my resignation from one of my first jobs, one manager asked me why I’m leaving, and my answer was that I want to work in multiple companies and environments, so that I can learn about myself and find my mission in life. That spontaneous answer surprised me at the time and little did I know then how true it would become.
I worked with numbers for 8 years, in consulting and finance, and there were aspects of my jobs that I liked, such as the planning, structure, investigative nature of the role, and explaining financial aspects to clients or colleagues.
However, throughout the years I wasn’t feeling like I was having an impact, I wasn’t fulfilling my purpose.
Through therapy and coaching I made a list of my options, explored them by talking about them and answering challenging questions, made SWOT analyses for each of the options and realised it all boils down to helping people embrace a growth mindset through deep and authentic connection.
That means helping others become more content, motivated, productive, less critical with themselves, more inclined to explore, willing to put in the effort, to make mistakes and learn from them.
I chose coaching for progress as my motto precisely for this reason. To move away from perfectionism with its limiting beliefs about fixed abilities and qualities and into the space of exploring.
I also shifted from perfection to progress. From the child, teenager and young adult worried about grades, exams and performance without fail to the adult who is aligned with the importance of purpose, effort, errors, experimenting, but also breaks, self-compassion, empathy and play.
One example of this shift is this: in the post-coaching notes I take, I make sure I put down both things I want to improve and things I did well.
I’m still working on things like imposter syndrome, self-criticism, and blaming myself. I know I need to overcome these obstacles if I want to live a more fulfilled life.
Have you ever read “Mindset” by Carol Dweck? It’s a fantastic book that I really resonated with. In fact, I want to wrap up this article by sharing the diagram from the book with you that explains the difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset. If you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. You might discover something new about yourself.
Image source: Mindset by Carol Dweck
