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Writer's pictureN Kimathi

Finding "X"- How Your Career Benefits From A Journey Backwards



Whenever you make a step forward that truly feels right, isn't it because it’s actually a step back to who you truly are?


The journey towards career and life fulfilment, I've found, begins with going back before one can move forward.


In our younger years, we were unashamedly ourselves-the good, the bad, and the ugly. Then came all the external forces and voices, and we ended up creating a certain persona, one that would enable us to get by in the world. Maybe these external forces and voices made us less selfish. But maybe they also made us too silent, too acquiescing, until we lost track of ourselves. And so at some point in our adulthood, we embark on a journey to “find ourselves,” to find who we truly are, what we truly stand for, our unique voice, our style, the contribution we really want to make-not the one imposed on us.


Once we find our sweet spot between these external forces and our internal beliefs, we begin yearning for the freedom and courage to live in that zone. It is where we feel real, where we are at peace, where we excel, and where we are happiest. Anything else feels disingenuous and unfulfilling.


So when we…

  • look for a job / career / organisation that aligns with our strengths and values

  • seek leadership roles that enable us to have more control over the kind of impact we desire to have

  • value relationships that allow us to be our true selves without any judgement.

  • make more time to do the things we truly enjoy

  • work hard to make enough money so we can live our life the way that truly satisfies us

…aren’t we simply on the journey back to ourselves?


The work is in clarifying who we truly are so that we don’t find ourselves on the wrong bus, simply because everyone else is on it.

When you’re on the wrong bus, you may find yourself,

  • pursuing a career because it was the most lucrative at the time

  • desperate for a promotion so that you can keep up with your peers

  • seeking popularity

  • being very busy, but not on the things that truly matter

  • making lots of money so that you can live life the way others are living it

May you find the courage to make the journey back to yourself. May you find who you truly are and build the confidence to show up as exactly that. May you reject the carbon copy and seek to find your original. The world needs to hear your unique voice, it needs your specific contribution.


So many problems in the world right now, are you the missing “x” everyone is trying to find?

Feel free to share this article with anyone who needs this reminder.

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