I know that as I embark on my own personal magical makeover, I won’t be able to outsource this work in the same manner as I could redesign my home. I can solicit help from friends, family, professional career coaches, self-help resources—but this time, I have to do the work myself. My goal is to take the design elements I already possess in the form of my gifts, strengths, and passions and put them to use in service to my family, my community, myself, and my God. I have a pretty good idea what my strengths are— I’m at the point now where I am trying to discover where my true passions lie so that I can put all these components to work together. I have always admired (envied, truthfully), the people that have got this part already figured out—the doctors, the lawyers, the teachers, the firefighters, the policemen, the graphic designers, the actors, and yes, the mothers. They have somehow managed early on to embrace the things they enjoy in life and figure out how to make a satisfying career out of it. I’m not naïve enough to think that there aren’t aspects of any job or career that aren’t enjoyable—but when you find that a majority of what you are doing falls into that category, perhaps it is time for a magical makeover.
I was able to be successful in my consulting career for many years doing work that was challenging but not terribly fulfilling. I imagine I have the potential to do great things if I find the work that I have both passion for and capability to perform. We all do.
When I first had children, my most used phrase was like most mothers I know, “You do what you’ve got to do,” Now I think my phrase will be ‘I can do that!’ I’d like to use that phrase more often with my children—as an example of really looking at myself—an original creation on this planet —in order to encourage them to find their gifts, strengths, and passions long before they hit the middle of their lives.
What will I look like after my makeover is complete? I’m not sure. Maybe it will never be what I would consider complete (which is terrible for a task oriented person) but just the next phase of what has already been a life of amazing twists and turns.
