5 Tips On How To Align Your Career With Your Life Purpose
Assalamualaikum lovely souls! Hope you are having a lovely week that is full of purpose. Talking of purpose, today we will be sharing our insights on how you can align your career aspirations with your life’s purpose.
In fact, if you are coming from our podcast, then you would know that we actually have an in-depth episode on Finding Your Purpose and Living A Meaningful Life. Check that out too if you haven’t already!
Why do we keep talking about purpose? Well, our tag-line is, ‘living a good story’ and to actually embark on this journey we need to first and foremost reflect on our unique task in this world.
We have been chosen out of all His creations to be His representatives on this earth. We are created by Allah for Allah. And so we should constantly ask Him to guide us, as to what exactly is our mission that will fulfil the bigger purpose of being the reflection of God’s love in this dunya (world).
How exactly we can begin doing that is what we will talk about next..
Figure Out Your Core Values & Strength
Our soul comprises both our inner goodness (our Fitrah/Spirit) and our lower self (Nafs/Ego). It is upto us which one we want to feed more. And your Spirit is what dictates your core values.
A Native American parable beautifully explains this concept:
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”
He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
So the question is, what spurs you on? What motivates you to better yourself and benefit others as well? Once you have figured out what you believe in and what keeps you going, it is easier also to know what does not. In that manner, you can rule out certain careers.
And while you are reflecting on your core values, also take the time out to reflect on your strengths. Allah (SWT) has given us all a unique gift (or talent) that we can utilise to benefit His creations for Him.
To add on, our Career Guidance Mentorship Program for young adults focuses a lot on these core values and uncovering your unique set of strengths.
Do Your Research
Whether you are looking for the right university or workplace to kickstart your career, it helps to peruse through the values of the institute. If they resonate with you and it allows you to work on your own set of values, then it's time to add that organisation to your list.
Set The Right Intentions
Anything you do for the sake of Allah automatically becomes a form of worship. So set the right intention when planning your career goals keeping Him in mind. As a Muslim it is all the more important that we choose the right career path as not only will it define our worldly life, it has the potential to also make or break our Hereafter.
Earn & Spend In The Halal Way
Islamic Philosophy emphasises that a job is not good based on how high it pays you, but based on how halal is your source of income. Even if a job pays you less, but you are working hard and your income is Halal, in Allah’s view, that is more valuable.
In fact, I have come to realise that when your entire focus is to please Allah, He puts a lot of baraqah (abundance) in your rizq (sustenance).
Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘if one of you were to carry a bundle of firewood on his back and sell it, that would be better than asking a man who may or may not give him something.”
Also, let’s not forget that not only should we earn the right way, we should also spend mindfully and in the way of Allah. Umair and I talked a great deal about spending in the Halal way in our podcast episode titled, “How We Manage Our Finances.”
Become An Embodiment of Your Deen
Lastly, it is also important to note that you don’t necessarily have to work in an Islamic organisation or start your own venture of that nature to fulfil your role as His representatives on earth. In fact, the purpose is to embody our in deen in our personality, no matter where we go in life.
The Quran says, “Struggle in the way of God with your wealth and
your souls” (61:11). But do not share your faith with the singular goal of
convincing people to believe what you believe. Become an embodiment
of your faith, to remind people that God loves them. Call people to divine
love, and let God decide what path they are meant to walk.
[Secrets of Divine Love, A. Helwa]
The way we talk, act and lead our life should all speak for itself. How we deal with challenges, how we diffuse a disagreement at work and how we give back to the community, all this should reflect your deen. That’s how you inspire the hearts of people towards the right path. That is our true purpose.
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I know this is a rather lengthy topic, but one that needed a detailed explanation. I hope I did justice to it and that you guys found it useful!
Don’t forget to tune in to our podcast, this coming Friday! Till then, Allahafiz and take care.
With love,
Rabail and Umair Khan
