YOUR PURPOSE TEST RESULT
“Occupation”
You are here
#Solid Action
Fruitful
#Engagement
#Manifestation of value
What Your Result Means
DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE ON THE PURPOSE TEST
You are currently at the interface of “you are great at it” and “you are paid for it”, which suggests that you are in a fruitful and stable earning situation in which your skills are seen and monetarily valued. Since the spheres that you scored significantly lower on are the more feeling-related ones, associated with identification and joy, you may be experiencing inner question marks related to staying where you currently are.
In the long run you may be in a place where you can clearly see the impact and usefulness of your work. Perhaps you’re feeling low on inspiration or as though you’d rather be in alignment with a cause that lights you up, rather than in a hamster wheel.
Now before you swear in Spanish because you think I’m telling you you’re “only in it for the money”, please remember that this test is just a snapshot of your right now and does not attempt to establish any kind of typology.
Occupation is a stable place upon which to build a purpose-driven career. You are not concerned with surviving, which allows you to branch off some energy and dedicate your intention towards thriving, nourishing joy and finding a place where you can have a productive impact.
Keep reading to see what has held other people back at this stage plus some practical advice for moving forward that I invite you to take with a pinch of salt (and some delicious tacos ).
What’s Holding You Back
MEET YOUR BULLSHIT MONSTERS®
No matter which stage you’re at, we all have a little voice in our heads that tries to keep us safe by keeping us un-extraordinary. I lovingly call this self-deprecating chatter “bullshit” and it’s best dealt with by visualising it as coming from a little monster, a bullshit monster!
Stern Blade
People who find themselves in Occupation often meet Stern Blade, a monster that looks like an innocent blade of grass but don’t be fooled, for this military head of the lawn leaves a foul aftertaste in your mouth as it makes a blatant case for ordinariness, reinforcing your fear of being different. Its motto is: “Proving your strength of character means staying put.”
It wants you to stay where you are, preferably in an orderly manner and without attracting too much attention. Its aim is to keep you from being curious, from learning new things or from being playful. In order to do this, it might appeal both to your sense of righteousness and your fear of being ridiculed.
Dream Eater
You may also encounter Dream Eater, who feeds off of your dream sprouts, the innocent musings that could have the potential to become something, someday.
Dream Eater isn’t much of a thief. Rather, manipulates you into giving up your precious dream sprouts voluntarily. How? It creeps around you sniffing the irresistible scent of possibility in the daydreams that excite you. It’ll point out the flaws in your thinking. Know that dreams are inherently flawed–they’re just there to inspire you! Discouraged, you shrug off the dream sprout, which will immediately be gobbled up by the gluttonous Dream Eater.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH 10 MILLION BUCKS, ASSUMING (THIS PART’S IMPORTANT), THAT ALL YOUR DEBTS ARE TAKEN CARE OF, THAT YOU’VE SECURED YOUR FINANCIAL WELL-BEING AND TAKEN CARE OF AND PAMPERED ALL THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE?
WHAT WOULD YOU DO FOR SHITS, GIGGLES AND OPEN-HEARTEDNESS?
I’d love to tell you to dream and play and feel and cry, just to invite you to dive into an emotional swimming pool and then consider your work from that stand (swim?) point. You see, the sailing instructor dream could have afforded you some insights if you had dared to stay there. You may for instance have discovered that you’d love to be in nature more or that you’d love to work with people, both being entirely realistic options. But considering how hard it is for people in Occupation to let go of the logical lens, dreaming will always seem a little useless (and uncomfortable if you meet the Dream Eater).
So instead, I invite you to answer the lottery question: What would you do with 10 million bucks?
Think of something that touches you (stories, arts, music, dance, inspiring people?). What would need to happen for you to feel more like that in your work?
And, whenever you catch yourself in extreme thinking, e.g. “I’ll have to drop my brainy career and start from scratch”, hold your horses. Starting from scratch is unlikely to be the right choice for you (unless you have a very clear inner direction). It would trigger all sorts of survival monsters. Instead, it may be interesting to look at a different industry/ employer/ work context that needs you. One that you can imagine loving…
And now what?
Go and be your brilliant purpose-driven self. You are on your path even when it doesn’t feel like it!
Plus, I’ve got your back. I’ll be in your email inbox in the next few days to help you contextualise your results and put them into action.
All you have to do is give me permission to land in your inbox by confirming your subscription. If you can’t find the email, check your junk folder and whitelist me.
With ease and confidence,
Anaïs
Here’s a sneak peek of what you’ll be getting
Why asking yourself “what’s my purpose?” is one of the most useless ways of going about working with purpose (even if you really want to know)
What to do instead
How to deal with Bullshit Monsters® when you meet them out in the wild (procrastination, fear of ridicule, perfectionism - I’ve got you covered!)