by Barry Kerr and Kristine Gay

What do you want to achieve in your life? Some people have a precise answer to this question, like, “I plan to become a doctor and develop medical research to eliminate uterine cancer.” Wow! How admirable. But does hearing such an answer leave you feeling a bit intimidated? Are we all supposed to know exactly what we’re here to accomplish? If so, then what’s wrong with you, right? Why don’t you have a clear mission and plan?

Well, maybe you do, but chances are you don’t. Even if you chose a profession early on, you wouldn’t necessarily know where it will to lead you, or what ambitions might form. Most of us discover our goals as life progresses, based on experiences, influences and inspiration, and it can change drastically and contrarily.

That’s what happened to Charles, a man in his 50s, who is now quite happy and fulfilled in his career and life. Charles began life feeling destined to become a scientist or engineer, taking advanced high school courses in math and science. His future seemed obvious to the adults around him.

However, in college, he found himself board and uninspired. What he really wanted to learn was how to feel and express his emotions. He envied those who could do this. Even more, he wanted a fulfilling relationship with a life partner, a mystery to him thus far. So Charles switched majors. He joined the theatre and pursued a career in acting.

The myriad experiences and training he encountered on his way to becoming an accomplished performing artist were exactly what he had thirsted for, and he felt inspired and expanded. Yet, after several years, boredom again set in, but this time, before he could determine a new direction, his health intervened. Charles suffered from a slowly developing nutritional disease, which caused him pain and depression and brought his acting career to a halt.

It was through healing this disease, first through diet and then through therapy and life coaching, that he began to encounter information, people and experiences that opened his vision to his “true calling” in life. Charles became a healer, a counselor and a spiritual teacher. He’s very good at it, and it rewards him with meaningful, fulfilling work and contented days. The skills he learned on the way enabled him to eventually create a wonderful relationship with the woman of his dreams.

More importantly, through the many turns in his career path, he has grown within himself in ways that he now understands are at the heart of his real purpose in this lifetime. When Charles enlisted the help of a skillful evolutionary astrologer, he was shown his life plan, the goals and strategies his soul had planned out before birth. The astrologer explained to Charles the karma he had brought into this lifetime and how it needed balancing.

His astrology birth chart indicated that Charles had spent many lifetimes applying a logical mind with scientific attention to the practical details of the physical world. In the process, he lost touch with emotions, feelings, intuition and spiritual awareness. Now, to balance, his soul planned a different direction. It took Charles half his life to become conscious of this, much less confident in it. The astrology reading affirmed for him why math and science came so easily, but why it had taken most his life to achieve what he most longed for.

Charles’ many outward career achievements were meaningful, but not the essence of his fulfillment. It’s his inner personal achievements of emotional intelligence, relationship skills and spiritual wisdom that have both fueled his motivation and rewarded his ambitions. The logical scientist within Charles remained and played a supporting role in Charles’ ability to learn his new life lessons with more clarity, precision and discernment. He knows that a career in science or engineering may have been successful, but would have failed to achieve his life purpose.

So when considering career goals and life purpose, be aware that what your ego thinks is important may be different than what your soul is trying to achieve. Even the doctor who discovers a cure for uterine cancer may be actually achieving something more important on an inner soul level.

Barry Kerr, an evolutionary astrologer and certified life and relationship coach, and Kristine Gay, a licensed psychotherapist, own Choose Conscious Living in Madison. Both have extensive training in soul-guided healing of mind, body, heart and spiritual systems. They offer healing, coaching, therapy, mindfulness and astrology services for singles, couples and groups. For more information, visit http://www.ChooseConsciousLiving.com. Call for a free consultation and questions.