Pain into Purpose
Do you have a Purpose?
Do you know why you get up in the morning to conquer each beautiful day?
I am not speaking of your “WHY”, but more about the driving force behind it.
Through a Simon Sinek WHY Discovery course several years ago, I identified that my WHY is to: Inspire, Ignite, and Activate the Greatness in Others and Myself.
Authentizity
Leveraging both financial budgetary resources, as well as my own naval-gazing, self-reflection hours, that investment has been one of my North Stars, as a gut check to guide my decision about the direction of my business, Authentizity, LLC. However, as I reflect upon these past several months following my husband’s stroke and throughout COVID-19, knowing my WHY has taken on a whole new meaning.
Authentizity was created as a business-to-business consulting, coaching, and training firm. That will stand the test of time and continue. I welcome the opportunity to work with organizations and professionals to advance their company culture, alignment, and ultimately impact their advancement for the future.
ARMORED
However, by authoring and self-publishing ARMORED, I am realizing my vision of transforming the pain that I have experienced to fulfill a greater purpose. It is my sincere aspiration that by sharing my story, I will advise others to prepare for unforeseen life, and especially healthcare, events. ARMORED offers encouragement, lessons learned, and provides comfort that even though we must walk through dark valleys in life’s journeys, we are never alone.
As I have mentioned previously, I am the least likely person that you would ever want as a caregiver and seemingly the most unlikely to provide this type of advice. However, I have had to stretch and press myself with my unique strengths to “care coach” my husband through his three, life-threatening illnesses throughout the past 21 years of our relationship.
In full transparency, there have been times when life has brought me to my knees. It is often a lonely place to be, even when I’ve been surrounded by many others. We all shoulder our challenges differently. Unless you have walked in someone else’s shoes, there is no full empathy for the pain that they are enduring. We can only be there for them as best we can and help out as they allow us.
Recently, I had an opportunity to assist someone within my network whose husband had a stroke two months ago. While she told me how much she appreciated me for listening to her and then sharing my perspective and lessons learned, she will never know how much fulfillment that I received by serving her to allow my pain to have a purpose.
I know that these are challenging times for so many, but I’d like to propose something to you. Can you define your purpose in your obstacles and serve others through your pain?
If you are in a situation in which you are a caregiver and need encouragement, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to serve you as well. Please contact me at dlandry@authentizity.com.
Additional Resources:
In a recent Sunday morning broadcast, Jane Pauley reported that: “Studies estimate that between 40 to 70% of all caregivers have clinically significant symptoms of depression, with approximately one-quarter to one-half of these caregivers meeting the diagnostic criteria for major depression.” Please take care of yourself.
For more information, please visit:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jane-pauley-on-recognizing-depression/, and
https://www.homeceuconnection.com/blog/caregiver-mental-health-caring-takes-toll/
