Looking for Inspiration

In a recent blog post, I wrote about when we get stuck going through the motions of life, not pursuing our personal destination. We become busy, busy, busy  spinning our wheels but not really getting anywhere. In that post I shared that sometimes we need to slow down, slow way down by taking quiet time on a daily basis to help us stay on the path toward our destination.

What can we do when our destination needs updating, needs some adjusting in order to remain viable? As we grow, we change and what we envisioned in the past would be an appropriate path to be on is not quiet right anymore.

What happens when we don’t know our destination? What can we do to help figure out how we want to live, how we want to spend our time, who we want to spend it with, what type of work would nourish our soul?

Maybe some changes are in order…

What to do?

I stand by my advice to take quiet time in order to stay tuned for any AHA moments of insight that our mind may reveal to us. I literally spend 10 minutes every single morning, sitting  with my eyes closed, trying to quiet my mind and body.  But some times I go long stretches in between my AHA moments and feel the need to search for inspiration elsewhere.

I have been on-line a lot lately; listening to podcasts, reading blogs, doing google searches.

The other day, I decided I needed to go old school. I needed to do something radical to jump-start my brain into figuring out how to update my strategic plan. I decided to go to the library. The library? Yes, the library.

Go hit the library!

I am searching for some inspiration on how to update “My Destination” to more accurately reflect where I want to be professionally. It currently states “I want to earn my living doing work that I find meaningful and that brings others to a better place/space”.

As I read that, it actually sounds perfect. Maybe my destination doesn’t need tweaking at all. Maybe I just need to get inspired or just motivated to take a hop, skip and a jump further along on my path. I need to dream BIGGER. I checked out 2 audiobooks, 2 hard covered books and 1 paperback book.

I find my current position as a per-diem Occupational Therapist at a skilled nursing facility to be meaningful. I enjoy my work and the people I work with.  I like assisting people to get stronger so that they can resume charge of their life and begin to do daily tasks more independently.  Like with any job though, there are downsides that rob you of the joy, that strip away the meaningfulness and leave you unmotivated and uninspired. I have been at this job for 3 years and doing this type of work for 8 years; I need to shake things up.

That is where I find myself at work these days. I enjoy the actual 1:1 time with my patients but feel depleted by pretty much everything else. For the last 2 years, I have worked per-diem so that I can do  side jobs that nourish my soul. Honestly I don’t want to do any of those full-time either but the combination of income streams has kept me whistling in the pursuit of wealth for a few years.

For the last year, I have been studying to become a Certified Health Coach and passing the exam was one of my 2018 Goals. I took the exam earlier this month and have met that goal. High 5!

Give me 5!!!

I rarely go to the library to find a particular book. I like to wander the shelves to see what jumps out at me. On this particular trip, I checked out a book on creating your own inspiration,  one on building a business working from home, one on getting better at finishing what you start, one on the wisdom we get from our elders and one on a woman’s personal medical crisis.

The books and audio tapes I borrowed  are already helping me take some baby steps  in terms of upgrading my professional life. For me, whatever steps I take next must ensure I stay on the path toward  doing work that I find meaningful and that brings others to a better place/space. That is after all the direction I have pointed my kayak in for the last few years!

Knowing my personal destination, updating it when necessary and making 1 good decision after another ensures that I stay on course. What are you doing to ensure you are not simply going through the motions of life?  Life is short – make the most of it!

Paddle On

Lake Girl

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