What Gives You the Right?
I struggle a lot with what is known as “imposter syndrome”. If you haven’t heard of that, it’s a persistent feeling that you are not qualified, or adequate, to do a certain thing.
If someone was to ask me what makes me think I can write this page and have something of value to share with the world, I would probably start by saying nothing, and then my natural instinct would be to shrivel up inside and withdraw from the conversation.
Because I feel like I am wholly unprepared to do this.
Yet if I were to allow my instinct of fear and my sense of not being enough to just pass on by, and answer from a place of deep conviction, I would explain to them that I felt it was my purpose to be of use on this earth, to help others, and that writing this page is a part of that purpose.
Whether or not I have anything to share is between me and the person who reads it. Some might say it has value, others might say it has none.
But if it’s in alignment with my purpose, I should do it regardless.
And it’s been a long time trying to find out why I’m here. I read a quote one time that said that your purpose on this earth was to find out what your purpose was, and then to live it.
Interestingly, it didn’t say you had to be good at your purpose, or have some astounding earth shattering truth to reveal. It just says that you have to live your purpose.
Which is what I try to do each time I sit down to write this page.
And finding your purpose is not necessarily easy, unless you’re one of the lucky ones who just know. I told a friend tonight that I am just beginning to understand what it is I am supposed to do with my life at the age of 48.
She asked me what it was, and I falteringly managed to explain something about it, describing this page and the coaching work that I am honored and humbled to perform.
Since her husband is a trained counselor who helps people, I expected her to ask something about how I was trained, or qualified, or certified to do this.
But she didn’t say any of those things. Instead she just asked more questions, and we had a wonderful conversation. The more we talked, the more I realized that the feelings of insecurity and of not being ‘enough’ to do this were only on my side of the conversation.
She never questioned, never once gave a gesture or intimation that she thought I couldn’t do what it is I feel I am born to do.
And her belief helped to wash away some of mine.
So today, I come to you to tell you that my name is Alan, and my purpose is to help people. Through my writing, through my coaching, through speaking, and through caring.
I have little to represent me other than a willing heart, years of experience listening and helping, and a fervent belief that this is why I am here, this is what I am born to do.
I believe that the gifts I have received are mine to share with others, to help them find peace in a universe that seems to provide very little of that.
And I leave today with two questions…
What is your purpose, and how can I help you achieve it?
— Dr. Alan Barnes
@maddrbmusings