Your Story Matters.

So, you’re ready to start living your best life but you haven’t a clue where to even begin?! Well it starts with discovering your niche! I was standing in the same place as you are not too long ago. It can be difficult to feel like you have a calling to do something special in this life but you’re not quite sure what it is, let alone how to get there!

For some, it’s as if their life’s purpose just falls into their hands and for others (like you and me!), we have to dig, scrape and claw just to find a little sliver of our true passion. But… After this, I promise you will be more clear about your vision!

FINDING YOUR WHY
Let’s first talk about why it’s important to even find your why. Discovering your why gives you a purpose and reason to get out of bed in the morning. It gives you that much needed drive and clarity on what it is that you want out of life which will allow you to set realistic goals that mean something and make you proud to be on this God-given earth.

So now that you know why you need to discover it, let’s get to it!! But first, let’s establish one thing. Your why should not be centered around making a ton of money. I know, sorry I have to be the bearer of bad news. For many of us, the first thing that comes to our mind when starting a business is: “How much can I potentially make?” We are always thinking about the mighty dollar because well, we all have bills to pay. Trust me, I know.. I live in California.

Money is important and can be a small percentage of your why but it can’t be the driving force. As you are building your business, there’s going to be times where you are going to be flat broke and not making a dime, and that is where your passion will come forth to keep you focused on continuing in your goals. Now that we know that, let’s dig a little deeper.

Finding your “why” is real simple. We often think that such a small question results in a gravely deep answer and takes a lot of work to discover but it’s real simple. Your “why” is right in front of you. You just have to open you eyes wide enough to see it and discover who you truly want to be. Your “why” has always been there!

STEP ONE: Brain Dump
The first step to finding your purpose is allowing your mind to do the work. Your mind is a beautiful creature, storing thousands of thoughts and when you place it in front of a blank piece of paper and pen, you will be shocked to see the results. A brain dump in its most simple form is just a list of unconnected thoughts.

Start out by writing down every thought. Every singe thing that comes to your mind, jot it down. Think about if you were to start a blog (or even a YouTube channel), what would you love to talk about? Do you have a pain point that you have the solution to? What subjects are you interested in? What value would you love to add to other people? Just keep jotting down those thoughts.

Now look at your list. Our minds naturally tend to get hooked into one or two lines of thought and then we expand in that one area with more ideas and even more ideas. The subject with the most ideas is YOUR WHY! Look at you, you found it!

STEP TWO: Identify Your Strengths
Now that you have this list, think about your skills and consider where your strengths lie. Are you an organized person or are you a great leader by nature? Do you love to speak or write? Are you great at finances or are you more a style and beauty kinda girl? Consider the things that come natural to you and then ask yourself this one question: What do all of your friends constantly ask you for help with?

For me, it was blogging and marketing tips and sharing my health and wellness journey of weight loss with hypothyroidism but for you it may be how to style your outfits, cook paleo meals or how to save money with 5 kids in the home. Whatever people are constantly saying that you are good at, that could be part of it too!

STEP THREE: Phone a Friend
Lastly, the best way to find out your why is by asking the ones that know you the best. Talk to your friends, your family, your classmates, your coworkers and see what they say. I always love to hear these answers because often it’s what we least expect!

An easy way to get these answers is to create a Google form with a few questions. Download a list of the questions that I used here! 

WANNA KNOW HOW I FOUND MY WHY?
I still remember the days where I bounced back and forth with my multi-passionate dreams. Ya see, my blog was born through the word FEAR. In 2016, my life was flipped upside down when I considered my why question, with a spin on it. I was asking God, “When was it that I first prayed?” And I was reminded of a poem that then opened up a deep wound in my soul of Post Traumatic Stress. immediately felt an overwhelming amount of fear and anxiety.

As I looked to doctors and spiritual mentors, I was in a daily fight to overcome anxiety and fear. I lived in my fear and my emotions. Little by little, I chipped away at that fear, until one day I overcame it.

Instead of dwelling in the thoughts of the fear, I dwelt in the thoughts of fighting the fear. When I felt my anxiety or fear rise up in me, I walked towards it.

The purpose of my blog came about, as I was in the process of fighting this fear and the Post Traumatic Stress that came with it. I wanted to find someone that was going to through what I was going through, because I knew that the statistics were high and that there had to be someone out there talking about it. But when I searched for a blog to help me, I couldn’t find it, so I knew I needed to create it.

My blog has definitely evolved through the years from what I originally wanted to talk about. I started wanting to talk about trauma to realizing that showing women to lift up their voice and share their story is what truly matters. I becamulfed in learning how to start a blog that I fell in love with the blogging process and this brings us to today, to where I am and why I do what I do. There are women just like me with a story to tell… and I’m showing them how to speak their truth.

So in conclusion, I hope that by the end of this you have gained some ground on what your why is, your passion, your purpose! Leave a comment below and share with us all what your why is now that you’ve discovered it!