Even though Ann has been instrumental to our work here at Life On Purpose Institute, she’s often been behind the scene and I’ve been the ‘pretty face’ in the forefront. That changes today with this interview I did with Ann via a Goggle Hangout. Be warned, one of our cats decided to make her presence known towards the end of the broadcast.
Are you a woman, perhaps a mother, who finds herself in midlife struggling with a major transition? Perhaps you are dealing with:
- Feeling lost, alone and uncertain as to what life is all about: You can’t put your finger on it but you just feel as if life doesn’t hold the meaning and zest it once had. So you ask yourself what’s wrong with me? Why can’t I get myself going and enjoy life to the fullest? Why am I feeling so lost when nothing has really changed?
- Change of career, the desire to change careers or retirement: You loved this career. Yet now you are tired maybe even burned out and looking for something fresh and new. You feel ready for the next chapter in your life. What will it be?
- Empty nest syndrome: You may have considered your primary purpose in life to be a good mother, but now that the children are gone you’ve lost that sense of purpose and meaning.
- End of a marriage: The relationship that you invested so much of your life into is over. It’s time to pick up the pieces and get on with your life…but how?
Transition Means Change and Change Isn’t Easy
If any of these sound like your situation in life then you may be feeling an array of emotions from unsure about the future, lost, disoriented and maybe even down or depressed. Oh you may occasionally feel a little excitement, but it quickly fades away. You thought you knew who you were, what your life was all about and what was expected of you. Now this major shift has occurred in your life, and you are left uncertain of yourself and what is next for you.
Have You Tried any of These?
When these types of major transitions arise in our lives, it’s quite natural to try one or more of these solutions:
- Just accept what is happening and move on. Just accept and wait this out. It’s all in the timing. You tell yourself you will eventually feel better, after all, this has always worked before. Time heals all. Right? Why is this persisting?
- Start something new. Get a new hobby or find some new friends to go out with. Distraction is a good way to keep what is really going on at bay so that you don’t have to think about it or deal with what is really going on in your life.
- Just stay positive. Positive thinking is always supposed to work. You are using positive thinking but no matter how many times you say your affirmation your stomach keeps turning and you keep returning to those negative thoughts.
- Look for new opportunities in your personal and professional life. It is true keeping busy or taking on new challenges at work or home can help ease some of your frustrations, but it can also be like putting a band-aid on a wound that needs much more care to truly heal.
Any of these can be helpful to a point, but you may find that they don’t really resolve the issues because, they don’t really get to the heart of the matter. They are treating the symptom but not the cause.
So What is the Real Issue?
What if the real issue isn’t that you have forgotten how to have dreams or your children have left home, or your marriage ended, or you are unhappy at your job? What if the real issue is that you’ve misidentified your true purpose in life? Perhaps, like many others, you have thought being a good mother and raising your children was your true life purpose. Or being a good spouse was what you were supposed to do with your life. Or your career was where you were going to make your mark in the world. But what if these have simply been some of the important ways in which you could express a much deeper and more expansive purpose (even if you’re not sure what that deeper purpose is)?
In our western culture most of us miss the mark when it comes to identifying our purpose in life. We misidentify our purpose as a role we have. While these roles are important and significant to us, they are not all there is to life. Most people when asked the question “What is a life purpose?” reply that it is what they are here to do. Operating from this cultural perspective then leads us down the wrong path when we begin to ask, “What is my personal life purpose?” People start looking to the realm of doing which then leads to more and more doing. This can leave you feeling unfulfilled and unsatisfied with life, asking the question: “Is this all there is?”
If your role as a good mother, spouse or provider is not your life purpose and neither is your work or career, then what is? To answer that most important question takes thinking about life purpose in a different, more holistic way. This way — what we call the Life On Purpose Perspective — has already helped thousands of people gain real clarity about their true purpose and in the process has resolved many of life’s issue’s and challenge’s including empty nest syndrome, relationship issues, and career issues.
Here is one more point to consider:
What if your life purpose isn’t about more doing but is more about who you are as a spiritual being and who you came here to be and to experience in this life? What if identifying your Divinely Inspired Life Purpose is the key to moving through these challenging times with ease and grace?
How I Can Help Make Your Life Transitions Easier
H
i, I’m Ann Swift and for over twenty years I have been a life coach guiding people through many of their most challenging phases of their life. Prior to discovering the coaching profession I was trained as a psychotherapist and ran Transitional Counseling, so you can see that helping people with their transitions is my calling.
In 1996 my husband and I co-founded Life on Purpose Institute, Inc. We have been working with people ever since the doors opened to help them clarify their life purpose and live true to it. Not only have I coached hundreds of people to clarify their life purpose, distinguishing it from their role in life, I’ve also helped them design a life that is a clear and authentic expression of their purpose.
I am also a living example of how to face the many challenges life can throw at us and move beyond the struggles by discovering the joy of living true to my life purpose. Having clarified my life purpose has made a dramatic difference in how I handle the struggles and challenges that come my way.
When any of us clarify our purpose and start to live true to that purpose it does not mean that challenges and struggles go away. It means we have a powerful set of tools to be able to deal with what comes our way. Just like a carpenter must have the right tools to do the job, we also need to have the right tools to live a life on purpose.
One of my special spiritual interests is Angels. I have been studying Angels for several years now and have believed in them my whole life. I have had Angel experiences that have assisted me in some dark and dangerous times in my life. I love incorporating Angels into the Life On Purpose Process as well. So if this is something you have thought about but never pursued this may be the time.
Are We a Good Match?
From my twenty-plus years of coaching I have learned the best results are achieved for my clients when we establish up front if we are a good fit for each other, and that’s what my upcoming Ann’s Coaching Day is all about, to help determine if:
• The coaching model I offer is the best fit for you,
• You and I would work well together, and
• You are ready to take on this challenge in your life.
If you are either in the midst of a significant transition in your life and could use some assistance and support then join me for Ann’s Coaching Day – Making Powerful & Purposeful Transitions. Previous coaching days have been so popular that to start out the new year I’m offering two days devoted to helping you move through your transition with more grace and ease. The dates are:
- February 20, 2012 from 10:00am to 4:00pm EST, and
- February 20, 2012 from 10:00am to 4:00pm EST.
I’ve reserved both days with 4 time slots for one-hour coaching consultations. Remember, these 1-hour coaching consultations have two primary purposes:
• To add value to your life for the pure joy of it, and
• To determine whether we’d be a good match to be in an ongoing coaching relationship.
So, claim your coaching time today. Here’s how to request your coaching consultation time:
Be sure you’re looking at Wednesday, February 20th or Thursday, February 21st. Click on the time marked in blue that fits best for you. Follow the instructions to book your time. You will receive confirmation via email. It’s that simple. You will receive an email confirming your appointment. If you have any difficulty making a reservation contact me here. Let me know the date and time you’re requesting so I can make sure it’s available.
NOTE! The appointments are usually conducted by phone, skype or Google+ Hangout, so you can ignore the physical address that may suggest you need to be in our offices for the session. You do not! If however, you are close to Hendersonville NC and would prefer meeting in person, please let me know prior to our coaching time.
Upon confirmation, I will send you a follow up message requesting additional information on how to prepare for your session for optimum value. If these two dates don’t work, give me a call at (828) 697-0057 (between the hours of 9 am and 6 pm Eastern time please) to schedule another day or time.
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