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How to Find Your Purpose in Your 20s, 30s, or 40s
15 Plays7 months ago
In this episode, we’re going on a journey to discover your purpose — that sweet spot where your values, passions, and skills meet and actually make you feel alive. Through self-enquiry, I’ll guide you with questions designed to reveal the inner directions you’ve been missing. You’ll start by uncovering your values, then explore your interests and passions, including the forgotten ones from childhood that reveal who you were before the world told you who to be. We’ll also look at your skills — the natural gifts you were born with, and the ones you’ve developed over time.
By the end of the episode, you’ll be able to connect your values, passions, and skills to discover a meaningful direction for your future, whether that becomes a new career path, a side project, or a more aligned version of the life you already have. You don’t need to quit everything or run away to the woods to find purpose. You can begin living it from exactly where you are — one aligned decision at a time.
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Transcript
High-achievers and Disconnection
00:00:00
Nadia Stejskal
You are a high achieving professional. You have done everything that society expected you to do, and yet you feel like something is missing.
00:00:10
Nadia Stejskal
Your life looks good on paper, but you for some reason you feel disconnected from it.
Finding Personal Direction and Purpose
00:00:16
Nadia Stejskal
If that's you, then welcome to a new episode of the Intuitive Move podcast, the place where we shut our minds, open our hearts,
00:00:26
Nadia Stejskal
so we can find our true selves. If you felt identified with the first sentence while we were opening the podcast, then you probably don't need to do more, but you just need to work on your sense of direction.
00:00:42
Nadia Stejskal
In today's episode, I'm excited to take you on a journey for you to find your direction.
Embarking on an Inward Journey
00:00:49
Nadia Stejskal
I'm going to take you to find your purpose.
00:00:52
Nadia Stejskal
I'm going to use everything that I learned from books, from my coaching practice, and from my own experience that helped me find my own direction and why I ended up here sharing this message with you.
00:01:07
Nadia Stejskal
For that, we're going to go on a journey that starts inwards. Surprise, surprise. We always need to do the work. Yes, yes. But think of that as some inner work that will pay off so much at the end.
00:01:21
Nadia Stejskal
So we'll start inwards from identifying our values. What is our North Star? What is our North Can we tell about the decisions that we make? What can help us make decisions or decide what's important and what's not important in our life? If you get your values right, then a lot of things become much easier because you can align your actions with your values.
Exploring Passions and Skills
00:01:51
Nadia Stejskal
Secondly, after we have our values, we'll dig a little more within yourself to find what are your passion, what lights you up. We want to be excited. We need more excited people in the planet.
00:02:06
Nadia Stejskal
That's what we need. And here We'll find your passions and what lights you up. Thirdly, we are going to dig a little more and find what are your talents, what are your skills and what are your favorite skills because you might know how to do many things but you don't really like using those skills.
00:02:43
Nadia Stejskal
On here, I would like to make a note, very important one. The purpose is not a job title. Your purpose is not a fixed destination.
00:02:54
Nadia Stejskal
Your purpose is a motivating force that gives your life meaning, that makes you feel fulfilled and excited about life.
00:03:18
Nadia Stejskal
that sometimes we feel like having goals make us feel the depressed because having a goal means that I'm not there yet.
00:03:26
Nadia Stejskal
But having a purpose can bridge the gap and can make you feel fulfilled during the journey because that's life. If we are always waiting for that job, if we are always waiting for when I move to this city, then you will never live
Identifying and Applying Core Values
00:03:42
Nadia Stejskal
your life. Your life will slip away and you have only one life. This life is only one and you should...
00:03:51
Nadia Stejskal
take it and live your best and express your truest self because what's the other option otherwise? So here in this episode, I'm going to take you on a journey and we'll get started.
00:04:03
Nadia Stejskal
what are the values?
00:04:06
Nadia Stejskal
Our values are beliefs and principles that can guide us and help us take action, make decisions, and know what's important in our life.
00:04:18
Nadia Stejskal
If we get that right, you can see every single time that you don't know what to do, you can think, does this align with my values?
00:04:29
Nadia Stejskal
Does this bring me closer to my values? If the answer is no, then there you have. Just don't do it. Or you can also think... with your friendships? Does this friend align with my values?
00:04:43
Nadia Stejskal
If the answer is no, then probably that friend is draining you more than is giving you. So everything that you, when you have questions about prioritization,
00:04:55
Nadia Stejskal
you can use your values to prioritize what's important for you and what's not important for you. So let's get our values right, right from the start.
00:05:05
Nadia Stejskal
So ask yourself, what are my values? Is it achievement? Do I strive to achieve goals? Is it adaptability, like being flexible and open to change?
00:05:17
Nadia Stejskal
Is it adventure? Are you a Sagittarius, girly? And seeking new experiences and challenges. Is it altruism, prioritizing the well-being of others?
00:05:28
Nadia Stejskal
Is it authenticity? That's my one of my values. Being true to oneself and expressing genuine thoughts and feelings. Is it balance?
00:05:39
Nadia Stejskal
Maintaining equilibrium between various aspects of your life. Is it beauty? Do you appreciate and pursue aesthetic and experience in art and nature?
00:05:51
Nadia Stejskal
Is it compassion? Caring for others and feeling empathy for those in need? Is it courage? Facing fears and taking risks despite uncertainty.
00:06:04
Nadia Stejskal
Is it discipline?
00:06:06
Nadia Stejskal
Exercising self-control and commitment to goals. Maybe it's fairness. You value justice and equality in treatment of others. Is it generosity, willingness to give time, resources, or support to others?
00:06:23
Nadia Stejskal
Gratitude, recognizing and appreciating the positive aspects of lot of life? Maybe honesty, valuing truthfulness and trans transparency in communication.
00:06:36
Nadia Stejskal
Oh, this reminds me of assertiveness.
00:06:38
Nadia Stejskal
And another one of my values is loyalty, being faithful and supportive to friends and family.
00:06:47
Nadia Stejskal
So from this list, ask yourself, what is a non-negotiable for me? What is it that I really, that it must be in my life, your truth essence,
00:07:01
Nadia Stejskal
What were your non-negotiables that you maybe spoke about them on the first date? Or maybe you were seeking a job and you were trying to find a job that aligned with your values.
00:07:14
Nadia Stejskal
Were you striving for like a flexible job? Were you striving to find maybe an adventurous job, maybe a routine job or maybe you were finding um you wanted to express your authenticity like me.
00:07:32
Nadia Stejskal
So try to find those situations where you really needed to have some values otherwise like you just are happy with anything and no you should have standards. So try to think on your standards and your values at the same time.
00:07:50
Nadia Stejskal
And from this list, or you can just Google list of personal values, try to think, pick five and take note of them and paste them on the wall or somewhere where you can see them often. Because every decision and of your life needs to be filtered with the sieve of your values.
00:08:13
Nadia Stejskal
You should always think of your values every single time where you even struggle with prioritization. So you need to do 10 things today, hopefully not so many, but say that you need to do 10 things, but you can't do all of them. So then you grab your values, which activities align with my values?
00:08:33
Nadia Stejskal
Do I really need to do this activity? If the answer is no, it doesn't align with my values, then I don't do it. Then you just ah don't do it because you have a limited amount of time and energy.
00:08:46
Nadia Stejskal
It's not infinite. We are here, we have the day and we have energy. It's not infinite. So you must... Pass all the actions, all the tasks, all your friends through the sieve of your values.
00:09:01
Nadia Stejskal
You filter what adds value to my life, what doesn't, and then we go on. Hopefully, this helped you dig a little more we to find your values.
Uncovering Passions and Interests
00:09:12
Nadia Stejskal
So we said that the first thing was to find your values. The second thing is to find your passions, what lights you up.
00:09:21
Nadia Stejskal
And sometimes it's hard to find our passion because we we literally have no idea. If you're here trying to go through the journey with me, then you probably don't know.
00:09:32
Nadia Stejskal
So maybe finding a passion when you don't know, then it sounds really hard. So how about we find... which topics you are curious about.
00:09:42
Nadia Stejskal
So you start with curiosity and then from curiosity, you dig a little more and maybe from there you will find your passion. Only after you expose yourself to different activities, situations, you tried many things, only then you will be able to tell me this is my passion. This gave me a lot of energy.
00:10:07
Nadia Stejskal
And if you want to dig really deep in this topic, I have the previous episode and about finding your hidden skills and finding your hidden gifts that you can uncover.
00:10:20
Nadia Stejskal
Even when you think that you know which your gifts are, you might have some more that are undercover. And by doing the recommendations from that episode, you can find more gifts to explore later on.
00:10:35
Nadia Stejskal
But here, so I'm going to ask you some questions for you to find your passions or your curiosities that you can then pursue and potentially find your passions.
00:10:48
Nadia Stejskal
The first question I have for you is, what topics light me up? Ask yourself, what topics light me up? Even when I'm tired, say that you're going to go to bed and you can't stop thinking about something because you're so excited reading about it. So a sign that you really like a topic is that you literally Google about it, you listen to podcasts, you listen to some, you watch videos about it.
00:11:18
Nadia Stejskal
Go to your Google search history.
00:11:21
Nadia Stejskal
that's a good start. If you Google too much about something, that might be a hint that that you're very curious about it and that can be your passion. So another question is, what would you explore if no one judged you at all?
00:11:37
Nadia Stejskal
So say that you really like a topic, but maybe you feel embarrassed about it.
00:11:43
Nadia Stejskal
what would you explore if no one was judging you? Another question for you is... What did you love as a child that until this day, gives you a call like, you like this?
00:11:57
Nadia Stejskal
Like a subliminal voice. And what kind of movies, books or conversations fill your spirit?
00:12:06
Nadia Stejskal
Which topics could you speak about non-stop Another thing that you can think of is if you had all the money in the world and all the time in the world, what would you be doing?
00:12:19
Nadia Stejskal
In which areas from your daily life you feel wonder, you feel like that childish passion and excitement? In which areas, locations, books, movies...
00:12:32
Nadia Stejskal
What kind of world do you secretly wish existed? For example, i really love, you know, the middle age and I secretly want to be there.
00:12:45
Nadia Stejskal
And I know it's silly. It's just that I love every single movie. I love Vikings. I love everything, everything related with the middle age. And, but that's okay. And i I'm really passionate about it. I don't pursue it as a career, but I could, if I if i wanted, I could do it.
00:13:05
Nadia Stejskal
So when you don't have a sense of direction, when you don't have a sense of off purpose, it's not a time to filter those things out.
Recognizing Personal Skills and Talents
00:13:13
Nadia Stejskal
It's a time to take everything and filter them through the sieve of the purpose and filter them through the sieve of values, what adds value to my life, then think, does this light me up? Does this give me energy?
00:13:31
Nadia Stejskal
Maybe it's one of your passions. And finally, we are going to go on the third step. which are your skills?
00:13:59
Nadia Stejskal
So, for you to find your skills, what can you easily do that others find difficult?
00:14:06
Nadia Stejskal
What can you easily do that other others find difficult? Maybe it's something with your hands, maybe something that you um maybe decorate your house and so it's so easy and enjoyable for you, but then you go to your friend's house and there is no sense of decoration.
00:14:26
Nadia Stejskal
Maybe you have that skill. It's beauty, beauty, Is maybe organization? Is planning? Is technology your thing?
00:14:37
Nadia Stejskal
Is it words you enjoy, maybe sharing messages, speaking or writing? is it communication? We'll go through a list later on for you to pick from there.
00:14:50
Nadia Stejskal
More questions for you. What kind of problems do you love solving? What kind of problems do you love solving? It's a pleasure for you to receive that challenge in where?
00:15:02
Nadia Stejskal
what' What's that about? Think. What activities make you lose track of time?
00:15:08
Nadia Stejskal
That's a sign that you were in the flow state. What activities make you lose track of time?
00:15:15
Nadia Stejskal
If you had to teach something for the rest of your life, I know it sounds very extreme. What would you teach about? What's your thing? Don't think about making money yet.
00:15:25
Nadia Stejskal
No. What's one thing that you could teach for the rest of your life?
00:15:29
Nadia Stejskal
What have people always complimented you about? Which skills were you standing out amongst many people?
00:15:38
Nadia Stejskal
What have people complimented you?
00:15:44
Nadia Stejskal
Were you good at giving help to people about what? What's that thing that people come to you to ask for advice? And you are unique and they come to you and not to others.
00:15:57
Nadia Stejskal
What do you naturally touch and improve just by being there, maybe just by giving your perspective or just maybe fixing fixing something physically like a device?
00:16:10
Nadia Stejskal
What is that that you touch and you improve? It can be metaphorical or it can be real, literal.
00:16:18
Nadia Stejskal
What do you feel you are most competent about, effective and proud of your work? What was the last time? When was the last time that you felt proud of yourself about?
00:16:30
Nadia Stejskal
What did you do?
00:16:31
Nadia Stejskal
What kind of impact do your actions tend to create? Maybe clarity or healing or inspiration So this is because of the result of your unique skills.
00:16:47
Nadia Stejskal
What kind of impact did you create? Did you heal someone? Did you inspire someone? Did you give a perspective that they gave clarity to someone?
00:16:59
Nadia Stejskal
Did you bring structure and everything started to work well after that? Think about your impact. With these questions, we're going to start to go through the full list and for this, start In this section, we have the skills, but there are so many skills that you have, as you can imagine.
00:17:20
Nadia Stejskal
So I took the reference from a book called The You Turn, you not like letter you is the you pronoun, turn by Ashley Stahl
Aligning Skills with Purpose
00:17:31
Nadia Stejskal
And she has a beautiful... um section in the book where she calls the core skill set and there are three core skill sets where we can classify every single occupation that exists in the world so this is amazing so the 10 core skill sets The first core skill set is words.
00:17:54
Nadia Stejskal
Are you expressive with language? Do you love communication? So if that's you, then we might explore some occupations aligned to it.
00:18:05
Nadia Stejskal
But remember, the purpose is not only the occupation. The purpose is... the intersection between your between your skills, between your values and your passions.
00:18:19
Nadia Stejskal
So from there, we might explore direction for us to create either a career or ah parallel timeline, a parallel direction to create career.
00:18:30
Nadia Stejskal
while you keep having your professional job. So let's keep exploring the core set, words. Some occupations that are aligned with the words is maybe employed roles like content strategist, PR manager, brand manager, editor, communications director.
00:18:53
Nadia Stejskal
But we also have some independent work pathways which we can explore. Like, for example, author, you can write books, you can blog, you can be a blogger, copywriter, ghostwriter, public speaker.
00:19:11
Nadia Stejskal
or podcast hosts like me. The second core skill set is innovation. Do you always have great ideas? Are you ah an idea generator?
00:19:23
Nadia Stejskal
Do you thrive on creativity and autonomy? Then, if that's you, then your core skill set might be innovation.
00:19:33
Nadia Stejskal
Some occupations for you to think about as employed roles could be product manager, innovation lead, strategy consultant, business development manager.
00:19:45
Nadia Stejskal
But you also can have some independent work and you can start up a company, like you can be a startup founder, a creative consultant.
00:19:56
Nadia Stejskal
You can be a business coach, an inventor or venture builder.
00:20:01
Nadia Stejskal
So, so far we said words and innovation. And I want to clarify that we might have more than one core skill set. However, we always have like one top one and then one or two secondary ones. It's very important for us to explore all of them first and think later what we align more.
00:20:23
Nadia Stejskal
The third core skill set, according to the U-Turn book by Ashley Stoll, is building. Are you a hands-on creator? Do you bring ideas to life physically or digitally?
00:20:37
Nadia Stejskal
Well, you might explore some career pathways as UX designer, industrial designer, construction project manager, mechanical engineer, or construction worker.
00:20:50
Nadia Stejskal
There are some other options for you to explore independently, like a home renovation contractor, furniture maker, web developer, cabinet maker, or tradesperson. Very hands-on jobs.
00:21:08
Nadia Stejskal
Maybe your core skill set is technology. Are you a tech savvy, a problem solver that thrives on digital systems?
00:21:19
Nadia Stejskal
If that's you, then you might explore some career pathways like software engineer, IT manager, systems analyst, data engineer, or cybersecurity specialist.
00:21:35
Nadia Stejskal
On the other hand, there is some independent work for you to explore in technology like app developer, tech consultant, freelance coder, IT troubleshooter, or AI specialist.
00:21:49
Nadia Stejskal
If technology is not your thing, don't worry about it. We have the next core skill set, motion. Do you get energized by movement?
00:21:59
Nadia Stejskal
Do you thrive in physical engagement? If that's you, then you might explore some career pathways as physical therapist, tour coordinator, stand performer or film crew member.
00:22:16
Nadia Stejskal
On the other hand, if you prefer independent work, you might explore but being a personal trainer, a dancer, an athlete, yoga instructor, outdoor guide or fitness influencer.
00:22:29
Nadia Stejskal
Everything is available for you if you know what you want and if you know your main skill set that you can give a use. The next call skill set core skill set is service.
00:22:43
Nadia Stejskal
You are a natural helper that thrives in support and care of others. So those roles that are aligned with caring for others might be for you.
00:22:54
Nadia Stejskal
For example, everything that is related with customer service, customer success manager, ah HR coordinator, nurse, social worker, executive assistant.
00:23:06
Nadia Stejskal
or independent work like life coach, wellness practitioner, virtual assistant, and elderly care,
00:23:16
Nadia Stejskal
or support work. The next one is beauty. Are you good and at making things pretty? That can be your career too.
00:23:25
Nadia Stejskal
So if your skills are related with the aesthetics, are you a visionary like in colors and you thrive in designing and styling things, then beauty might be your thing.
00:23:39
Nadia Stejskal
You can be a graphic designer, a creative director, fashion buyer, art director or interior designer. Independent work like illustrator, jewelry designer, ceramic artist, fashion stylist and branding consultant can be your options.
00:23:58
Nadia Stejskal
Another core skill set is coordination. Are you detail-oriented? Do you love organizing and you thrive in logistics and planning?
00:24:09
Nadia Stejskal
If that's you, then you might be a good project manager, operations coordinator, program manager, event producer, or logistics lead.
00:24:20
Nadia Stejskal
in the employed roles, but you can also be independent working as a wedding planner, retreat organizer, freelance project management, virtual chief operation officer, or logistic consultant.
00:24:36
Nadia Stejskal
Another core skill set is analysis. Are you insightful and curious and you thrive in research and diagnosis? Do you love analyzing data?
00:24:47
Nadia Stejskal
Then these professions can be for you. Employed roles like paralegal, data analysis, market researcher, intelligence analyst, economist or behavioral scientist.
00:25:01
Nadia Stejskal
Independent work like research consultant, private investigator, therapist in a private practice, or policy advisor. And the last core skill set, numbers.
00:25:14
Nadia Stejskal
Are you good with numbers? you love financial ah preciseness? Do you thrive in budgeting and metrics? Do you thrive in numbers?
00:25:24
Nadia Stejskal
Then you might be great financial analyst, chief financial officer, accountant, auditor, or investment banker. On the other hand, you can have independent work like bookkeeper, tax consultant, financial planner, wealth advisor, or also you can be a consultant in financial.
00:25:48
Nadia Stejskal
So there you have, I mentioned, 10 core skill sets that if you ask yourself which skills align more with you, with what you know how to do, what's your thing, and you can have more than one, for example,
00:26:04
Nadia Stejskal
Maybe you have one naturally from your birth, but then you grew up and then you became good at something else. For example, i was born naturally great with numbers. That's why I went through the path of engineering.
00:26:35
Nadia Stejskal
While I was reading all those core skill sets, I also mentioned some career pathways and some direction for you to pursue.
Reflecting on Life Purpose
00:26:46
Nadia Stejskal
But the most important thing is for you to think while in this episode you were exploring your values,
00:26:54
Nadia Stejskal
your passions and your skills, what was the underlying feeling like that was common in all those stages of your own search?
00:27:04
Nadia Stejskal
Because that's the answer, that feeling, that sense of direction and sense of force, because you're feeding your soul with this force that makes you feel passionate about life.
00:27:19
Nadia Stejskal
So what's that one thing that you were feeling? Even better, ask yourself, what were the contradictions? Because I am sure you said, yes, I really like this, but I have this other job that I cannot do that because it's incompatible with my job.
00:27:35
Nadia Stejskal
that's those contradictions are your clarity the dig a little more in that paradox of life those things that seem opposite but in reality it's just a reflection of your true self another question that i would like to ask you to wrap up with this journey of digging in your values your passion your skills and potentially having some direction.
00:28:02
Nadia Stejskal
your life was a movie, what's the theme running through in every single scene? That answer will be very aligned with your purpose.
00:28:14
Nadia Stejskal
We want to know
00:28:16
Nadia Stejskal
What's that force, that motivating force that gives your life meaning, purpose and fulfilling? So that is your direction. And that's what might be missing when at the start of the episode, I ask you that you check all the boxes that society expected you to do, but there is something missing.
00:28:37
Nadia Stejskal
Well, that missing thing might be the direction. What is the theme? If your life was a movie, what is the theme in every single scene? Please keep thinking about this and keep thinking about how you felt and the contradictions that you felt.
00:28:55
Nadia Stejskal
while we were going through this journey. And that is your answer. That's your life purpose. But remember, the purpose is not a job title.
00:29:07
Nadia Stejskal
The purpose is not a fixed destination. But the purpose is the force that makes your life beautiful, fulfilling, and with a sense of self-realization. And that's what we all need.
00:29:20
Nadia Stejskal
And that's what I would like that for you too.
Conclusion and Call to Share
00:29:23
Nadia Stejskal
Because once you find your thing or things, because we are more multi-passionates here, then the world becomes much better and we need more passionate people to be in this planet.
00:29:35
Nadia Stejskal
If you enjoyed this episode, please don't hesitate to share it with that friend that doesn't know what the purpose is or they need also some help because this journey is for everyone and I would love for you to share it with others.
00:29:51
Nadia Stejskal
I will see you in the next episode.