What Do You Love To Do?

Simon Sinek refers to it as your “Why.” 

Brene Brown speaks of doing what gives you joy. 

My friend and former NFL coach Daron Roberts refers to doing what “lights you up.” 

Lately, a lot of clients and friends—experienced CEOs, leaders of startups, former and current federal careerists, those wondering about AI and its impact on their work, and others—have been reflecting on the same question: 

Am I spending time in a way that aligns with my values?  

I’ve felt it, too. At 56, that question feels increasingly urgent. 

Sometimes it’s a low hum in the gut. Other times it’s a loud bang. 

There’s a simple practice that I’ve been sharing with my clients and practicing myself.   

A Simple Practice 

Try this for a month: 

1. Notice what lights you up. It could be a book, a moment, a task, or a conversation. What energizes you? 

   
   

2. Write it down. Just a few words each day. No pressure. No performance.   

   
   

3. Look for patterns. What shows up again and again? What do you love to do?  What do you want to do more? How do you want to be?  

   
   

4. Make a shift. Even a small one. Reclaim an hour a week. Start a project. Change the conversation. Try some “safe to fail” experiments and see what works.  

I started practicing these steps about 20 years ago, when I was a leader at Booz Allen. I had realized that what lit me up was the impact I had with clients through my leadership and team coaching work. At the time, not enough of my work was specifically focused on those areas.  

I committed to setting aside two hours a week to “play in that arena” (note that I use the word play because it was fun to me)—whether to talk to someone in the field, read a new book, or go to a conference or coach a new client. 

Eventually I was asked to be a learning circle coach for the Transformational Leadership Program at Georgetown University, and even though I wasn’t required to be at all the classes, I would sit in on some of them and learn from my peers—observing the various ways they coached and taught. Over time, I was able to focus more and more of my work on leadership and team coaching, and eventually to start my own business. 

As I work with coaching clients to explore their own sense of purpose, they often experience, as I did that… 

Sometimes, what’s next isn’t a giant leap. It’s a slow turning toward what lights you up. 

I invite you to try and let me know how it goes!  

Lori    

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