After watching a movie and being touched by a certain character, I often find myself curious about the actress who played the part. A few years ago I watched the movie ?Help? and was touched by the part of Mrs. Walters, played by Sissy Spacek. I got curious and started to read about Sissy. One thing that struck me in her story is what led her to find her purpose in life.

When Sissy was 6 years old, her friend invited her to come and see a performance she and other kids in her school were giving. Sissy remembers the moment when the Cokettes marched out onstage and her inner voice said: ?I could do that.?

She felt the excitement! Even though she had no experience with dancing or performing, she listened to her voice and started taking dance lessons. She didn’t plan to become an actress, but life led her into acting, and the rest is history. ?Everyone has an inner voice?, says Sissy. ?You just have to listen to it and trust it in order to be led by it. I did that, and it gave me the ability to live a life that’s true to who I am and what I really wanted.?

You might be thinking to yourself: ?It is not that simple?. You might be questioning if what you’re hearing is your inner voice or your tricky mind. How would you know if it is your true calling you are hearing and not your fears or simply practical needs?

In order to allow your inner voice to lead you, you have to stay detached
from results and expectations and let it guide you into what brings you joy.

Your expectations should not be that you will know what ?to do? with your life but you will remember ?who you are? and what brings you joy.

Sissy Spacek was only 6 when she felt the excitement and joy of ?the stage.? But she didn’t try to become just like the performers she saw on that stage, she was led into acting. She could have chosen to be a magician, a comedian, a singer or something else, but it was acting that made her feel the way she wanted to feel.

Finding your purpose is an act of BEING WHO YOU ARE and experiencing JOY IN THE MOMENT rather than realizing what kind of work you need to do.

Finding your purpose is not an outcome you will find at the end of your journey. Finding your purpose can happen every morning when you open your eyes and you recommit to being present and enjoying every moment of your day.

Listen to your inner voice and remember that there are many ways to express who you are, not just one. What career you choose is not important. You can learn a new skill-set and get another job that will allow you to express your creativity if creativity is what you’re looking for. Or perhaps you simply need to add something joyful to your current life.

A few weeks ago I worked with a woman who felt unfulfilled and depressed because of some issues that happened at work. She made a decision to stay at her current job because of the financial benefits, but she was miserable. We worked together to help her change her attitude and reaction towards work, and one of the exercises I engaged her in was listening to her inner voice and discovering what brings her the most joy. She remembered how she loved to paint mandalas. There was something about this sacred activity that felt spiritual to her and filled her with peace and joy. She started to spend 15 minutes at the beginning and the end of each day painting mandalas. She hung those mandalas on the wall in her office. Starting her day and ending her day with an activity that brings her joy and connects her with who she is has changed her negative attitude towards her job. She didn’t need to find a new job to feel fulfilled; she just needed to add some joy into her daily life.

In order to grow you have to find your inner voice.
Sit quietly with yourself and listen. What does your voice say?