Our culture places a lot of emphasis on “purpose.” In our careers, we’re expected to have some clear-cut goal or mantra that motivates us to achieve professional greatness and personal happiness. We are taught that we’re supposed to find one purpose or mission that stands the test of time; but just as our lives change, the focus and intensity of our purpose also fluctuates.

“Purpose isn’t something we find at all,” a 2020 analysis by the University of California Berkeley says. “It’s something we can cultivate through deliberate action and reflection, and it will naturally wax and wane throughout our lives.” When we try to hold ourselves to one standard our entire lives, we’re being incredibly unfair to ourselves and are bound to struggle with meeting our own expectations.

That being said, having a purpose is still integral to our happiness and success, and many of us find (or cultivate) this in our jobs and work lives. And while a work-centered purpose can be nicely structured and communal - we know what we’re supposed to do and how to do it - to rely fully on our jobs to satisfy this need is a serious breach of a work-life balance, not to mention an unrealistic expectation to set for ourselves. Your career shouldn’t be your purpose, but your purpose should guide your career.

In order to avoid this confusion, it’s important to check in periodically with ourselves on how we understand our purpose. This is no easy task and something many, if not all, of us struggle with. For example, in our recent Transitions interview, guest Jen Sterling shared the moment where she broke down, realizing she wasn’t happy in her job anymore. Jen had lost her sense of meaning in a career she had once enjoyed and was struggling to figure out how to regain it. She made a massive shift from CEO of the branding and marketing company she founded to her current career as a full time abstract artist. In this capacity, Jen became reacquainted with her purpose: her drive to create that she had lost even as her company had expanded.

It’s common and probably healthy to feel this desire to evolve your purpose, even as you succeed professionally. If you are at this point but unsure how to proceed, consider some of these suggestions.

1. Practice intentionality. We start jobs and get involved in certain industries and support certain missions for all types of reasons. Maybe you still feel a certain pressure from family to take a certain path, or are relying on cultural values to dictate what you can and can’t do, or find a leader who inspires you. By recognizing these drivers, you can begin to make intentional steps towards shaping goals and actions around what matters to you now.

2. Discover your values. Values assessments as an individual or in a group are a great tool for understanding what’s important to you. When trying to identify your values, writing them down can be helpful in visualizing your goals and the steps you take to achieve them. Our comprehensive blog post about value-based strategy suggests looking for the gaps between the values you select and your current choices in order to identify actions you can take to more fully live those values.

3. Embrace change and challenge. Your purpose is going to evolve just as you evolve. As you take intentional steps towards your ideal life and use your values as a guide, it’s also important to recognize that things are going to change and possibly be challenging. Being purpose-driven doesn’t always mean day-to-day happiness and that is okay. It’s okay to change - it’s inevitable. Being aware of those changes in your purpose makes it easier to tailor your strategies for achieving your goals.

Being mindful of what motivates us can change the way we view our lives and our careers. While we can’t achieve clarity overnight, we have all the power to identify what’s going to push us towards our next step in our Personal Stratgy.