Do you ever find yourself wondering exactly what your purpose is?
I do. Some days it comes as a fleeting thought. Other days I find myself fixated on this idea that I must be here for a reason.
The problem is I didn’t know why. And it kinda drove me crazy.
This time four years ago I was recovering from surgery. Truth be told, not only was I recovering from surgery, but I was also in the middle of a mental crisis. It turns out that I was a ball of stress going into my surgery and the tipping point came in the form of anesthesia. My psychologist theorized that the anesthesia triggered my system to go into a full-blown anxiety and panic meltdown.
Oh, and add to that a side of depression, thank you very much.
It’s easy to say that I needed to remove the stress in my life. For those of you that have heard that before, easier said than done, right?
But what if the stress was caused by something deeper than trying to keep up with your kids, work, and household chores? What if the stress was really stemming from a deeper place?
What if this stress comes from struggling with your purpose in life?
That deeper place for me was finding clarity on who I really was and who I wanted to be. In those moments four years ago, I felt that aside from being a wife and a mom, I had lost the essence of who I am.
As a marketing professional, one of my favorite things to do is research. It feeds into that geeky side of my personality that loves historical documentaries about people, places, and events in our past.
So I did what my professional, geeky brain told me to do. Research myself.
I started with a quick Google search on the Myers-Briggs test. That search brought me to a site called 16 Personalities.
This free quiz took me about 20 minutes to complete. The questions were straightforward and easy to answer. Given it was a personality test, I was a little nervous about what I was going to find out about myself.
You guys. You have to take this quiz!
I was absolutely blown away. I discovered that I am an INFJ-T (introverted, intuitive, feeling, judging, and turbulent). Ok – stop laughing at that last word. 😂
An Advocate… tends to approach life with deep thoughtfulness and imagination. Their inner vision, personal values, and a quiet, principled version of humanism guide them in all things. Advocates are the rarest personality types of all. Still, Advocates leave their mark on the world. They have a deep sense of idealism and integrity, but they aren’t idle dreamers – they take concrete steps to realize their goals and make a lasting impact.
I am an Advocate. Reading about my personality type was like looking in the mirror.
I was glued to the eight pages all about INFJ types. Everything from relationships and career paths to strengths and weaknesses. All of it was so accurate that I was driven to tears.
I took to Google again. This time searching on INFJ. I found so many more articles and stories to feed my curiosity. The more reading I did, the more validated I felt.
It turns out that I knew who I was all along – including my purpose. I’ve been on a path that was right for me this entire time.
Over the last four years, I’ve reflected on what I discovered about myself many times. Because of what I know, I am calmer, more grounded, and more confident about my life’s direction. In fact, getting to know myself as an INFJ helped me confirm that pivoting my business would feed right into my strengths, professionally and personally.
There are still times when I wonder if I’m headed in the right direction. A little validation from my research is all I need to keep going.
Nothing lights up Advocates like creating a solution that changes people’s lives.
