Chasing The Pull is NOT like chasing a dream, it's different. The Pull is intangible, invisible and sometimes incredibly frustrating. Imagine an invisible rope being lassoed around you, at moments in your life that rope is slack and you're able to maneuver around and enjoy your day-to-day. In seasons of transition, the rope is taut, it pulls you out of your complacency and makes you uncomfortable. It tugs on you to leave where you were to follow something you can't even see and have only begun to understand. That's the pull.
I did what I usually do when this happens; I continued on with my week convinced that the right subject would fall from the heavens and knock me on the head with continuously flowing words and I would once again go into my rain-man like trance writing a stellar post.
Forcing yourself to write doesn't always churn out the best material. So, I'm glad to say that it worked, as it usually does. I was having an intense conversation with my significant person about the invisible pull we feel on our lives that drags us toward the calling/purpose meant for us; the only problem is that chasing that Pull often translates into changing jobs often, confusion and frustration. It sometimes includes being jobless, penniless, and clueless.
I wrote about changing jobs in the pursuit of more viable opportunities in my last post but I'd like to contradict myself a little if I may. What do you do when you feel uneasy in every job you've had because it isn't aligned with your purpose. What do you do when the invisible Pull on your life drags you towards something unseen and not clearly defined and is so strong you can't even settle? In a world where so many of our peers are chasing a check, how do you instead chase the pull? I want to attempt to answer this.
Have you ever gone to a job where the pay is good, the relationship with the co-workers are good, benefits and time off are plentiful, you even have a boss who adores you but as you drift off into your mid-afternoon daydream, all you feel is this incredible sense that you're not supposed to be there? Questions like "Why am I here?" "Can I really do this for the next 20 years? and "I love this job but it's not really me?" ring in your ear. No matter how much coffee you drink, or how much personal news you share you just know that there's something better out there for you. Something that's just your size and fit. That feeling is the pull. Your purpose is pulling you toward it but the catch is that it's up to you whether you actually chase after it or not.
Chasing The Pull is NOT like chasing a dream, it's different. The Pull is intangible, invisible and sometimes incredibly frustrating. Imagine an invisible rope being lassoed around you, at moments in your life that rope is slack and you're able to maneuver around and enjoy your day-to-day. In seasons of transition, the rope is taut, it pulls you out of your complacency and makes you uncomfortable. It tugs on you to leave where you were to follow something you can't even see and have only begun to understand. That's the pull. Some people are born knowing their purpose so there is no real pull. Others are in-tune to the pull but have yet to fully understand the purpose. Then there are others who ignore it and stay in a job/place that was never truly meant for them long enough until they no longer feel the pull.
Chasing the Pull doesn't always look the same across the board. There are many methods to its madness.
Chasing my Pull looks a lot like me job hopping but really it is me picking up skills that will be used later as a great foundation in the next job and ultimately THE JOB. I discovered a while ago that I needed to trust this method and all it's madness as each new job or opportunity has utilized something from the previous one. Each time I transition after following the Pull, into a new field or career, I begin to get a clearer image of what my purpose is. The out-of-focus purpose gets more defined as I allow myself to be led by the Pull.
Sometimes we get complacent and forget we have a specific purpose meant for us in our pursuit of immediate money, rightfully so. However, often in that complacency we begin to get this nagging feeling of not belonging. You know I love a good metaphor so let's start with this; imagine you're a horse.
Yes, you can be a white unicorn for all I care just follow me on this.
You're grazing in a field near murky water and your passenger starts tugging on the reins to get you to travel up the ridge to the other side. All you know is that you like grazing in the grass and even though the water at the pond is murky you're glad you have it. You're tired, chilling and are in no mood to give up this certainty of food and water. What you don't know is that the passenger is trying to lead you to greener grass and clearer waters. You can either resist the pull at your reins or give in and follow its direction.
As with anything we must incorporate the realities of life into chasing our Pull. Those realities take on the name "light bill" "car insurance" "rent" and much more. At some point we must venture into the highly confusing, uncomfortable environment of a 9 to 5 or third shift or whatever; in order to keep the lights on. This does not automatically mean that you are ignoring your Pull but rather that you are being productive in the process of chasing. The chase is not meant to be comfortable. It's meant to prepare you.
On the outside following the Pull can look a lot like slacking off because you're not necessarily following the traditional path of go to school, land a job, build a career, start a family. Sometimes it'll look like changing majors multiple times, it'll look like applying to different jobs with vastly different industries, it'll look like moving cities every few years or even switching relationships often. It's the chase of a pull. The real question is, what's pulling you?
Do you have a PULL Builders? Do you know what it is? Comment below and Let's Talk!
My PULL is helping people, one millennial mistake at a time.
I love this so much!! My mentor encouraged me to understand that it is easier to follow the pull if you let go of what you think it's going to look like. I've spent the past month or so trying to let that sink in and let my higher self tell me which way to go.
Hey Builder! That is so true. I've been guilty of trying to follow the path that will lead me to what I THINK my life is supposed to look like but ultimately found myself unfulfilled because it wasn't the path that was actually for me. Following the pull will always lead you to your truest purpose, I'm still figuring that out myself. I hope you discover wonderful things on your journey! Thanks for reading and sharing your story.
Oh my goodness! This was an excellent read! I will have to come back and read it again, because I feel like I'm going to need to remind myself of this in the future.
I am in this situation right now, and it's just so incredibly frustrating. Sometimes I feel guilty, like I'm being ungrateful, but it's the Pull. I didn't have a word for what I was feeling until I read this post, but you gave me the exact vocabulary I needed. I feel so vindicated! Thank you!
Can you follow up on this and let us know how you're making out as you follow your own Pull? I feel like I need to take the leap, but the practical person inside of me absolutely does not want to. Seeing someone else on the journey would be really helpful.
Thank you Builder 💛😊 I always appreciate the kind of response you've given me. I've also felt ungrateful on my journey thinking that I should be satisfied with my circumstances but then the question becomes "where did we get this notion that wanting more for yourself or being ambitious equates to being ungrateful" I will definitely follow up with more as I settle into this "new" job that feels a lot more like home than the others I've had. I think sharing our stories is important because it helps connect us to many ppl who are experiencing the same thing but don't know what to call it. I also think that since you relate strongly to this post that it would be a great post for a collaboration where we both share our thoughts, experiences and journey of feeling or chasing The Pull. Tell me what you think!
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