3 Common Misconceptions Keeping You From Your Purpose (And What To Do Instead)
Finding your purpose can feel intense, confusing, and urgent, all at once. As a psychic medium, spiritual teacher and coach, I’ve spent years helping clients and students unpack what purpose really is.
Your soul chose to be here for a reason, and that reason is bigger than a job title or a neat elevator pitch. In this post, I’ll share three common misconceptions that block clarity, plus what to focus on instead. These insights come from personal experience and messages I’ve received again and again when giving mediumship readings.
If you’re feeling confused about your purpose, you’re not alone! Watch the video I made for you, or keep reading this: it will help clarify things.
Misconception 1: Purpose Equals Your Job, Career, or Business
It’s easy to assume your work is your purpose. We spend most of our waking hours either doing a job, building a business, or trying to figure out what we want to do next. It’s natural to think that my talents and gifts should determine my work. While that might be true sometimes, it isn’t the full picture.
Ask yourself this: If someone loses their job, do they lose their purpose? Of course not. Their life, their relationships, their inner world, their history, and their potential are still present. Their purpose is still alive and active, even if one expression of it has ended.
A consistent message I hear in mediumship readings is simple and steady. Loved ones frequently affirm that if you’re still here, in a body, your purpose is not over. There is still something for you to grow, give, learn, and become. Your purpose doesn’t disappear just because a circumstance changes.
The risk of tying your purpose to your occupation is that it can make change feel like failure. Careers shift. Businesses close. Roles evolve. If you make that the definition of your purpose, you may feel lost when life pivots. Your work is a channel for your purpose, not the source.
Think of your job as one expression of a larger truth. Your purpose can show up in how you listen to a friend, how you raise a child, how you create, how you serve, how you heal, and how you live your values. Yes, your work might reflect your purpose in a powerful way. It also might not. For some people, purpose flows more freely outside of a job description.
Key points to remember:
- Losing or changing a job does not mean losing your purpose.
- Your whole life, not just your career, can express your purpose.
- Stay flexible. Purpose is bigger than any one role or title.
If you find yourself holding tight to old beliefs about you and your worth, you can learn to retrain your thinking. I created a set of Positive Affirmation Cards that you can get for free with this resource: Free Affirmation Cards to cultivate self-love and resilience.
Misconception 2: Your Purpose Is Limited to This One Lifetime
The way my Spiritual Guides have shown me is like an arc that began at your very first incarnation and continues until your growth is complete. Along that arc, life after life, you gather lessons, refine your gifts, and deepen your understanding of who you really are.
Your innate gifts are part of this bigger picture. They didn’t appear overnight. They came with you. Life after life, you get the chance to develop them, to practice them, and in time, to master them. When you use those gifts to do good for yourself and others, you align with the heart of your purpose and with the Divine Plan for Earth.
What the Arc Looks Like
- Starts at your first incarnation and continues across lifetimes.
- Includes ups and downs that help you grow and build mastery.
- Ends when you’ve learned your lessons and completed your growth.
I hope that seeing your life as one part of the arc will change how you feel about your journey. I know that it isn’t always easy, but thinking in this way might help you release the sense of pressure. Finding meaningful answers takes time, so please be patient with yourself and remember to stay open.
Misconception 3: Purpose Follows a Straight Line
If you’re at the very beginning of your quest, or if you feel confused even though you’ve searching for answers for a while, please know that it’s the absolute norm! You’re not alone in experiencing this, and that’s why I want to share a piece of my story with you.
For the first part of my life, I poured myself into art. I drew and painted. I made music, worked in theater as an actress, and created music with my rock bands. At around 33 years old, everything changed fast. Everything I had built collapsed and disappeared painfully quickly. I had to start over with my life.
When I look back now, I can see two important pieces. First, just before that collapse, I felt a deep longing for something different. I didn’t have words to express what I was feeling back then, but I now know it felt as deep as when the soul is calling you home. Second, all the spiritual experiences that had been with me since my early childhood, they’d never left me. My metaphysical thirst was still there, and when my life took on an unexpected new direction, it all started to make sense. (You can read all about my story on my About page).
In the end, this is what I hope you’ll come away with: Your true path will find you when you’re ready.
You do not have to have every step planned. Keep listening. Keep taking the next clear step in front of you, even if it feels small.
If you want ongoing guidance as you explore this, you can receive my weekly notes in your inbox. Sign up for my newsletter, The Luminous Path, to stay connected to these conversations and practices: Receive The Luminous Path in your inbox.
Ready to live your Purpose?
Where are you at with purpose? I’d love to hear what you’re noticing: share your experiences or current challenges in the comments below! If you know you need support, please check out my Soul Purpose Alchemy 3-month program, where I guide intuitive, sensitive, and empathic people, including starseeds, from discovering their purpose to embodying it in daily life. You can reach out via email to schedule a discovery call.