What is my purpose? How do I discover it? How do I know if it’s the right one? What if I wake up one day and decide that I don’t want to do that again? Am I even allowed to choose my purpose? I thought people were born to do something, a God-given gift. God gives everyone a gift, I simply need to wait to discover my gift. My aunts would ask me what I wanted to do, I did not know what to say. Was I born with a purpose?
I was born in La Pointe, Haiti. People in La Pointe aimed to do the necessary to see another day. For kids, it was getting an education with the hope of having a better life tomorrow. For grown-ups, it was finding something to do in order to earn enough to buy something to eat. However, Dr. Mozart Cherubin was a physician that was there to heal anyone who was sick. He was like grandma, grandma believes that nothing is ever too little to share with others. I could not sell meat at the market like grandma, men were not allowed to sell meat. Thus, I wanted to be like Dr. Mozart.
I started to see grown-ups greet each other by asking “how is hypertension or diabetes with you today?” I thought once I grow-up, it was evident that I and everyone else would develop diabetes and hypertension. I did not know what Dr. Mozart studied, I figured it must be related to diabetes and hypertension. I dedicated my life to becoming a doctor.
Even though I wanted to be a physician, I was not sure if that was my calling. I still thought a calling was something that I would wake up one day, have an epiphany, and BANM! I would know instantly that I was born to do this or that. That epiphany never came. But as I was engaging in health-related activities, my interest in medicine grew. When I took my first physiology course, I knew I was born to study medicine. I still was not convinced that my purpose was to be a physician, no epiphany yet. That is until I read Grit by Dr. Angela Duckworth.
In that book I learned that purpose is when you want to improve the lives of those around you. Purpose does not require an epiphany, or waiting to be discovered. I can and should develop my purpose; that is by taking an interest in something, then figure out how that something could help others. It is also vital that you see someone that is living a purposeful life. After that reading I knew, I have my purpose. I also had a role model. Now I am finally convinced. I wanted to help like grandma does, since I could not sell meat, Dr. Mozart was it. Later on, my interest in medicine developed which makes physicians ideal.
If you are looking for your purpose, I would suggest you explore your interest. It is easier to find what you like if you know yourself and your core values. Learn about yourself, use that to choose an interest, then find out how that interest could help those around you. Also, keep in mind that your purpose can change. You are not married to it.
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