Moving toward purpose with a leap of faith

I’m not exactly sure when it started, but there came a time in my life where I had a growing sense of purpose. There was something I was supposed to do, something the world needed from me. I envisioned it as a pair of shoes custom made for me and me alone and they were waiting for me to put them on, but I had no idea what they looked like or where they would take me.

I knew of two schools of thought on choosing a career, “do what you love and the money will follow school” and “seek money in the hope that one day you’ll be able to do what you love in school.” . I took the last path. I entered the workforce in whatever job I could get and worked my way up as the winds of change and opportunity presented themselves. I got to a point where I had money, a house, a car, clothes, but I wasn’t happy in my job. I loved the people I worked with, but I had no passion for the products my company sold. At some point in all those years of work, I had sold myself for security. Don’t get me wrong, there were many reasons to justify this decision. After all, I had a child to support and was single, but a part of me knew that I had put money before my own satisfaction and peace of mind.

This is a common situation in our society and workforce. It happens with millions of people who work for years in jobs that don’t really interest them, sometimes 60 to 80 hours a week. This is 2/3 and more of our lives. Few people find satisfaction and fulfillment by breaking their backs to fill someone else’s coffers. After working 30 years or more, people are lucky to walk away with a pension and health insurance for life, and a gold watch to top it off.

Some people begin to question this approach to work and life, often called a midlife crisis, the culmination of years of dissatisfaction and lack of fulfillment. They begin to question what life is really about and what their place in it is. More and more people are looking for a sense of purpose in their work and their time on earth, feeling the need to leave the world a better place for having been here. They are looking for their “pair of shoes”.

Security is of course a real issue. Especially in times like our current economic crisis, where fear is pervasive and rampant. People are losing their jobs, whether or not they are willing to leave them. Difficult questions become more important in our lives, how will I survive? How will I take care of my family and my obligations? It is not just about security, but there is also the fear of the unknown. Walking towards a future that is uncertain. What will I be called to do?

For the last year that I worked in a corporate job, I was struggling with these questions. It was the most stressful year of my working life up to that point. I was the only single mother in an apartment where working long hours was the norm and working from home was not an option. I took some creativity and writing classes, searching and waiting for answers. As a result, I realized that I needed to quit my job and walk down that path of uncertainty. A month later, when I was laid off, I realized that I was called to put aside my vision of security and take a leap of faith and trust that God would guide me every day, every step. I had asked and prayed for a turn and here it was. You know that old saying, “careful what you ask for, you just might get it.” I can tell you from experience that it rarely looks like what you imagined.

What does it mean to take a leap of faith? In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, one of the requirements of the knight’s path to the Holy Grail was a “leap of faith.” Indiana came to a great chasm that he could not cross, but when he stepped not knowing where his foot would land, the bridge appeared. In fact, this is how faith works in my life. For years I had succeeded in life entirely through my own abilities, skills and talents, but now I was faced with insecurity and the unknown. The leap I was contemplating was wider than my own strength could take. Faith requires believing in something bigger than me, something that can bridge the gap between where I am now and where I need to go. Faith has been the bridge.

Applying faith to this situation meant that I needed to trust the voice of intuition within me and keep taking steps forward to do the right thing next. Within a week of being laid off, I learned about life coaching. He felt Right, so I did my research and enrolled in a training school. At coaching school they told me to enroll in Toastmasters to improve my public speaking skills. At Toastmasters I increased my confidence and ability to speak in front of people. One thing led to another and another.

It’s been over seven years since I was fired from that corporate job and now I can tell you that it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me. The call of security has continued to knock on my door, I have been beckoned with job offers and marriage proposals, but over time I have gained clarity that keeping my faith and staying on the path is more important. I just couldn’t see giving my shoes to someone else. Every time fear threatened to overwhelm me, faith brought me back.

Today, I begin each day by praying for direction and guidance to continue walking the path, my path, in my pair of shoes, to make a difference in the world and feel satisfaction and fulfillment in doing so. If you haven’t already, I hope you too will search and find your own unique pair of shoes. A sense of purpose is a pathway to satisfaction, gratification, and peace of mind. It all starts with a leap of faith.