What’s Holding You Back? Discover the Secrets to Personal Growth 🌱

Hello, everyone in Cadre World. This is a wonderful but busy Wednesday, I'm sure, not only for myself, but a lot of us. So today we are going to talk about what is definitely holding us back. But then we're going to take a deeper dive. Good morning, Michelle. Into some of our purpose, our reason why, and why we do the things that we do. So we're going to wait for some others to join us on the live stream and I am going to do my best to keep up with everyone as they enter the room. But as you are entering the room, I definitely want you to tell me where you're.

Where you're from. And when I say where you're from, what's state are you in? You know, do we have some South Carolinians just as myself in the room? North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, you know, where are we located this morning? So while we're letting some others chime in, I definitely want you to let me know where you are, what state. And then as we always do, I want you to tell me on a scale from 1 to 10, where we are today. Because today is, I'm going to call it Mental Health Wednesday, because JC was just on a few minutes ago talking about the importance of mental health.

So if you can do two things for me. Oh, Michelle is in the great state of South Carolina. Yes. So if you could do two things for me. Tell me where you are. And then if you could rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10. How are we? How are we this week? And for me, this week has been definitely a busy week because yesterday we had a couple events going on. One was with the alumni association where I earned my undergrad. And then we had a chamber event. We had a CEO roundtable, which was wonderful. And I was able to gain definitely a lot of insight on the world of banking when it comes to small business and making sure we're taking care of ourselves so we can have those moments of personal growth.

As we're still waiting for some others to come in. Those of you who may be joining us for the first time, My name is Dr. Jessica Green and I am a mental health provider, a clinical counselor here in South Carolina, but I also serve as a supervisor. I'm licensed in North Carolina, in Florida along with South Carolina, but then I'm also a continuing education provider through the licensing board for the state of South Carolina. So I wear a lot of hats. A lot of hats. So when we talk about finding your why, your purpose and your passion and that personal growth, yes, we are all of the above.

So as we continue to discover the secrets of personal growth today, I want to talk about something that we all tend to wrestle with at some point in our life. Whether it's work, professional, family, in the community, but our reason why. 8. So you talk about someone living their best life, she definitely is that deeper reason behind what we do, who we show up for, and then how we move through the world. And let's be honest, you know, there was a. A season in all of our lives when we were checking all the boxes, we were working, we were showing up, we were doing what we were, quote, unquote, supposed to do, but we still felt as if something was missing.

So that feeling is a feeling that we may not be living in our purpose. So without that clarity, it's hard to figure out our reason why. So if you've ever felt this way, I definitely want you to d*** with me today because we're going to dig a little deeper together about uncovering our purpose and then that passion for life. So let's start with this. When we think about finding your why, it doesn't mean having everything figured out, because we don't. It means reconnecting with the things that make you feel alive, those things that make you feel fulfilled, and those things that make us feel anchored.

Because without a why, it's easy to burn out. It's easy to feel unmotivated or even caught up, get caught up with comparisons where we're comparing ourselves to others. So from a mental health perspective, a sense of purpose has to be linked to three things. You know, they need to be linked, and they will be linked to lower stress. They're linked to better emotional resilience and even improved physical health. Because purpose gives our life a sense of direction. And when life throws us curve balls, your why helps you remain and become centered.

So I want you to grab a notebook or just think through this with me. So if you're able to grab a notebook, grab that notebook, that pen or pencil, if you are driving, I just want you to think about this and walk through this with me. So I want you to think about these three questions that can help you uncover your reason why. So the first is what lights you up, you know, what brings you that joy and excitement? So I want you to think about the last time you lost track of time doing something. And if you want to write in the chat, tell me what that was.

You know, for me, it might have been talking about someone Going through something. So we were walking through best practices that they can utilize. So if you think about something that you were doing and you lost track of time doing it, what was it? And as you're writing that in the chat, I'm going to move on to the second thing. The second thing is what breaks your heart. So what injustice, struggle or issue in the world gets to you Sometimes our purpose is born from those lived experiences that we have gone through, those things that we have experienced, those things that we have overcome or deeply care about.

So for me, when it came to mental health, it was through my lived experiences with my father who was in the military and died active duty. So that's why mental health, that's why military families, our ability to be courageous, have compassion, build connections, and being our authentic self, it is definitely important to me. So the third thing is who benefits when you are fully yourself, who feels encouraged, who feels seen or supported when you show up and you're able to be your authentic self?

Because purpose is not always loud. Sometimes it's simply being who you are and impacting others through that truth. Because you're able to be your authentic self. So I want you to look at your answers, I want you to take a look at those themes and tell me what you see. Now, it may not happen today, you may need to write these down again, but I want you to figure out that consistency when you are looking at your purpose and then your passion in life. Because that's where we need to start. For me, when I was an undergrad, my degree was in early childhood education and I attended my first internship and I told myself this is not for me, but I want to stay in education.

So then I decided to major in sociology where I'm still interacting with others, but understanding their reason why, you know, their interaction in society and the way they think. So that became a passion for me and something that raised that curiosity and that I definitely love. So as Michelle said, being your authentic self is definitely important and it can definitely inspire others. So here's what I want you to take away today. You don't need to have a five year plan to live with purpose. Your why can change and know that it's okay.

Because we all know we all go through phases where we're in different seasons. So that why at that moment might have been your why. But as you grew older and your seasons change, you became a mother, you became a wife, you may change career roles and it changed. And that's okay because we have to listen. Good morning, Luke. We have to listen to ourselves and know that we evolve. And again, as we talk about vulnerability, not seeing vulnerability as a negative, but seeing it as a positive. Yes, we are fearful about change, but we have to be courageous and do it and see fear as a positive.

Because sometimes your purpose is not found. It's remembered. It was always there, waiting for you to slow down and listen to yourself. Through the way of introspection, where we have to look inside of ourselves and dig deep to find out what our purpose is. And your why doesn't have to impress anyone. If it makes you feel aligned, if it makes you feel fulfilled, if it makes you feel at peace, we have to realize that that's enough. So here's your challenge for the week. So I want you to take 10 minutes, no phone, no distractions, and answer those three questions, and I want you to write them down and focus on what can I do?

What can I start doing? What can I stop stop doing? What do I need to stop doing? Because it's stopping me from reaching my. My goals and uncovering my purpose. What's something that I can continue to do that is aligning with my purpose? And then what's something that I need to change the way I'm doing it so I can be my best self? So if this episode sparks something in you, I want you to send it to someone who might be searching for themselves as well, searching for their purpose and their passion in life.

Because we're not meant to figure it all out alone. Until next time, stay grounded, stay curious, and keep chasing the kind of life that actually feels like yours.