Going Inward: A Guide to Purpose and Intention

“When people don’t have vision, they fill time with pleasure... Pleasure gets you further from your vision and purpose.” – Benjamin Franklin

This article aims to share more about my transition from corporate America to this year-long sabbatical. I hope to encourage an examination of the trade-offs between your career choices and their impact on your spiritual, physical, and mental health, as well as the relationships that matter most to you. I also hope to encourage thoughtful consideration of your purpose and values, whatever that may look like for you.

A career in software sales offers significant upside, both as a rep and a leader, with high W2s and company support. While the work isn’t technically difficult, it can be hard, extremely time-consuming, and, at times, stressful. It often leaves little mental space to ponder deeper-level questions around purpose, values, and lifelong goals. I compounded work stress with unhealthy coping strategies and an overbooked social calendar that would make a young Mick Jagger tired. Poor work boundaries and maintaining a constant state of high energy and busyness in an attempt to validate myself bled into the weekend. Social jet lag followed me into the work week. Disrupted sleep and frequent travel led to poor food choices. Work calls and travel shortened or eliminated gym sessions. This vicious cycle compounded quickly, impacting mood, performance, and relationships.

Arthur Brooks in his book “Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier” discusses the impact of chasing false idols, stating that “chasing power, money, and fame usually leads to less happiness...it lowers satisfaction by putting you on the hedonic treadmill of never having enough. ”My hedonic treadmill was set to level 10 with a 5% incline. To stick with the Mick Jagger reference, the problem isn’t that you can’t get no satisfaction; it’s that you can’t keep it. As with most hedonic things, the pleasure associated with getting it is short-lived. Commission checks started to feel empty as happiness was continuously deferred to a future point, when you would finally receive an indeterminable amount of money from those checks and retire. The problem wasn’t just the pursuit of money as the end-all-be-all, which is a never-ending game; it was also that I began to lose sight of what the ultimate goal was, which resulted in me seeking more busyness, pleasure, and fun on the weekends. As I came to this realization, I began to like my job less and less, yet also felt a mix of being trapped and ungrateful for the type of financial security I had in my job, but not wanting it.  It had been 6-7 years since leaving the military, and I had a good income, career growth, and was having fun. However, it became clear to me that I lost my sense of purpose, of feeling like my work served a greater good. My relationship with God became more distant, and my physical fitness was neglected. The strong sense of community from my time in competitive sports and the Army frayed. It was time for a reset.

My goal is not to dissuade people from taking high-income jobs or to prioritize making money. If you are in a high-paying position doing work you love, while still providing adequate attention and support to the things you value in your personal life, that’s great! Unfortunately, most research on average household income and overall job satisfaction suggests that this isn’t the case for most Americans. There appears to be a profound issue in the US regarding the correlation between earnings, productivity, and self-worth. Social comparison is rooted in us as part of an evolutionary biological trait that helped our ancestors survive; today, it leads to a reduction in happiness and an increase in depression. I think these two things combined are likely a leading cause of a mental health crisis in America, fueled by an unhealthy appetite for social media consumption. 

I wanted to take charge of finding my purpose again, so I chose to leave the corporate world. I wanted to focus this time on re-establishing the values I live by, prioritizing my health and relationships with loved ones. Luckily, you don’t need to quit your job or take a leave of absence to do the work on reconsidering your purpose, defining your values, or reprioritizing what’s important in your life. Creating routines around prayer, meditation, breathwork, and/or journaling are all great ways to get in tune with your inner self and make space for reflection. Focusing inward and on self-improvement should help create internal alignment among your thoughts, feelings, and actions, providing peace within, rather than seeking validation from external sources or through productivity. Below are some questions and exercises that I thought through before making big changes in my life. 

-What makes me happy?

-What are my strengths?

-What are your 10 greatest life experiences?

-How do I want to invest my time?

-Write a letter to yourself from a 110-year-old you. What are you most proud of, and what advice would you give yourself?

-What do I feel like is my purpose?

-What values do I need to prioritize to live that purpose?

-Where/how are you compromising your values?

I am extremely grateful for the career journey that has brought me to this point, which has provided me with the financial ability to create the time and space I need to reprioritize, and I recognize what a privilege that is. After carefully considering these questions, I have decided to make a change. In addition to traveling for the better part of this year off, I will also be setting the groundwork to launch a health and wellness brand. I will be creating podcasts and content for the foreseeable future and working towards launching retreats, as well as in-person and virtual breathwork events. Stay tuned! In my first podcast, my guest, Jordan Lynch, brings up the Japanese concept of “Igaki” which is the idea of finding meaning or purpose in life at the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. I am excited to start this health and wellness journey, as I feel it will bring me closer to my “Igaki.” If you’re interested in listening to the first podcast or receiving future articles, subscribe to my newsletter, The Vibe, and follow along on Instagram @Tenable Vibrations.