When I was about 5 years old, I told my grandma (I think or some close family member) that I was going to live in New York when I was older. I had had this clear vision of a huge park, with lots of trees, in a rectangular format. It was surrounded by a city, with yellow cabs, honking horns and a bright sun burned high in the sky. This visions stayed with me throughout life, in my teens I grew obsessed with NYC. I read books, watched movies and listened to music from the crazy, electric place.
It wasn’t until I hit my 20’s that I had the pleasure of experiencing NYC first hand. The first time wasn’t enough, I went for 4 days with a dear friend of mine. We both had very different ideas of what a good time in NYC looked like. I left him hungover in bed at 8am each day, and I walked, and walked and explored the city streets. By 8.30pm I often returned to our hotel, we had dinner together, we came home, showered and I would drag my aching body into bed to watch movies and fall asleep. I do want to mention here that the dish network in the US has a lot of channels and I’d always end up having plenty of options for what to watch! Anyway, my friend would get dressed and hit the clubs and bars until the sun came up.
Lucky for me in my late 20’s my best friend met her husband and moved to New York. I found myself in this fab contract job and every time it got near to the end of my contract, I negotiated some time off and went to New York to spend some quality time with my friend and my fave city. As time went on, my love of NYC remained the same, but it became apparent it wasn’t the place I wanted to live. I felt conflicted, this had been the plan and work opportunities had even begun to present themselves, but I could shake the nagging feeling in my gut… this is not my home.
More time passed, I decided to travel to Australia and ended up staying in Sydney. Six years in Sydney had no passed, as I walked my usual route to work I noticed a new building was going up. They had started marketing the building and had aerial views from the building. I stopped in my tracks, there in front of me was my vision. A large rectangular park, surrounded by city street, yellow cabs honking their horns and bright sun burning in the sky. Before now I hadn’t made the connection. I’d assumed all along it was NYC, but it didn’t feel right and Sydney always did. It is where I am supposed to be and where I’m supposed to do my work.
What has this got to do with finding your purpose? Well, part of my purpose was always about being in the right place. That place that felt like home.
Here are a few slightly obscure questions to help you find your purpose:
- If you won the lottery and was financially set up for life, How would you spend your free time?
My hubby and I chat about this one on a regular basis, probably because the advertisements for Oz lotto are prolific around Sydney. And each time, he laughs at my answer! He thinks I’m a nut. My answer is always the same… I’d study. I’d go back to university and study, I just love learning and having knowledge, and then sharing it with others. I’d study ancient mythology, finish my naturopathic degree and maybe be brave enough to add traditional Chinese Medicine into the mix. I currently go to a Naturopath Kingston and am studying the practice but I’ve not really looked into Chinese Medicine so it’s definitely something I’d be interested in. I’d also open a boutique health and wellbeing centre where people could come and reset, and leave feeling renewed, loved and ready to take on the world.
2. What gave you joy when you were kid?
My one true love was and is reading. I used to carry a blanket out into the garden and all my books. My nan used to bring my lunch out to me and I’d picnic with a book in hand until the sun went down. Hidden in these are things that you are probably good at and passionate about. My love of writing led to my love of writing and sharing knowledge with others.
3. What’s on your bucket list of things you really want to do in life?
Write a book. It just seems like the hugest mountain to climb and this is one that really splits my emotions. Writing a book is like birthing a child, it takes dedication, love and time. Right now I don’t know how this will happen juggling work, side hustle and family. I’m just trusting that someday there will be space for it to emerge.
4. What Makes You Forget to Eat and Poop?
Kinda the tacky way or asking what takes up your focus and attention so much that you forget you basic needs!
5. Who do you spend time with and what do you talk about?
This is always an interesting one, as I have such a diverse group of friends but there is one common denominator. We are all overachieving, Brazen, type A personalities. We are all successful in our own right and we have all had some kind of health or healing crisis as a result of constantly pushing forward. This has made us acutely aware of the importance of wellbeing, health and work-life balance for women. I’m really looking forward to the day where we can all work together on a project that will positively impact the world.
I’d love to know what you thought of the questions, and a few of your answers!
Drop me a line, leave a comment and share what came up for you around your purpose.
