Searching for Passion and Purpose

a Guest Blog Post by,

Sarah Brutsman, Pathway Coaching LLC

Searching for Passion and Purpose

My name is Sarah Brutsman. I’m a Life Coach who helps people live lives of passion and purpose and I own Pathway Coaching.

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to help and support people in living their lives on purpose.

About six years ago I was working at a  local non profit and we went on a team retreat and did an assessment together called Pathmaker. Part of the process included working with a coach to create a personal purpose statement and I was shocked at all the emotion that the exercise brought up in me. I realized that I had felt misunderstood my whole life. There are things that I’m made to do that I was afraid of because of past experiences and relationships. It took a lot of wrestling but eventually I discovered my personal purpose statement….

“I must live a life of passion and conviction in order to inspire, encourage and equip others to do the same.”

I’ve always been told that I’m stubborn and strong willed. While I don’t think it was meant as a negative statement I had taken it as such and tried to overcome it by being compliant. I was able to reclaim the strength of my purpose by reframing the definition of the character trait of being “strong willed”. In my purpose statement I used the word conviction to define my ability to hold fast to a goal or idea. This small action had a powerful result and I was able to embrace my “conviction” as a positive part of my character. So often who we are made to be and who we become are disconnected because of wounding and the lies we believe about ourselves and others.

For me one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome in order to live out my purpose was my own fear and insecurity. I was raised in a very performance driven and workaholic family and still struggle with being ok with who I am over what I do. To live a life of purpose we have to get to the point where we can accept who we are at the core of our being and live from that place. What we do is temporary and dies with us but, who we are has lasting effects on the world around us. This brings to mind the question “How do I know who I am?” For me, I knew that in order to be comfortable with who I am I had some work to do so I went to a counselor and did some deep healing work. I went to a grief coach and dealt with the unresolved grief in my life. I turned my focus from doing for God to being truly who I am and bringing that to him.

If you want to live a life of passion and purpose it’s going to cost you. It will cost letting go of however you cope and avoid and it’s going to require you to embrace who you are fully and wholeheartedly. God creates us with purpose. Even when they were held captive in Babylon God spoke to his people about the plans he had for them “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29 11-13

Because, his words are timeless I know that He does the same for us! When we are captive to our fears and insecurities he speaks purpose over us. I’m at a point now where I love and value who I am as an individual and being in that place has set me free to live out my purpose.

I invite you to join me! It’s a difficult journey but I know for sure that you’re not alone because I’m journeying too! Find safe people to encourage and support you, learn about yourself, find healing through counseling or therapy, support groups and bible studies, find a coach that can help you make goals and encourage and support you on your journey. The people around you are waiting for you to live your life on purpose for a purpose!

I’d love to talk to you about how I can help you live a life of passion and purpose. You can find me at www.pathwaycoaching.net and on Facebook @pathway.sarah

– Thank you Sarah –

Sarah is a wonderful and naturally skilled coach. I had the privilege of working with Sarah myself. She facilitated a journey that helped me to identify my natural gifts and how to bring those gifts into focus. This is when my personal purpose statement was developed.

“I must have the freedom to express myself with integrity and come up with challenging and creative ways to engage and walk alongside others in order to affirm their worth and value.”

This provided a foundational piece from which I then pursued my life purpose with passion. Because of this affirmation of my created design, it launched me into the work that I am now doing.