Finding Purpose: What It Means to Me

Have you ever wondered how a single moment can redefine your entire life purpose?  This episode is a heartfelt tribute to resilience and the power of finding meaning beyond setbacks.

My path wasn't straightforward, and I recount the unexpected turns that led me to my true calling. From respiratory therapy and a challenging year as a CNA to the pivotal introduction to public health at Georgia State University, each experience taught me invaluable lessons about adaptability and perseverance. With the mentorship of an esteemed professor, I navigated career changes and honed my focus on impacting the community through public health. This chapter of my life highlights the importance of being open to new possibilities and following one's genuine passions.

 I share how defining my purpose has illuminated my path and brought joy and fulfillment into my life. By stepping out of my comfort zone and reflecting deeply on what brings me alive, I was able to launch my nonprofit, Scrub Life Cures, and commit to making a meaningful impact. This episode is a powerful reminder that our purpose extends beyond mere survival, encouraging us to make each day count with intention and passion. So, grab your favorite cup of tea and join this discussion on discovering and living your true purpose.

Chapters

• 0:00 Finding Purpose Through Life Challenges
• 7:20 Navigating Career Changes Towards Finding Passion
• 10:07 Discovering Purpose Through Public Health
• 15:17 Empowering Purposeful Life Choices
• 19:00 Discovering Personal Purpose Through Reflection

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to Tea with Tanya. I'm your host, tanya Ambrose, an average millennial navigating life as a maternal health professional, non-profit founder and grad student. Join me in the tea tasting room where we spill the tea on finding balance and promoting positive living while doing it all. Hey friend, welcome back to another episode of Tea with Tanya, where we talk all things transforming every aspect of our lives. I am so glad that you could join me here in the tea tasting room this week for another episode, and we're going to be diving into a topic that's somewhat close to my heart, something I've been thinking about and reflecting on these last several months. But before we get into that, I want to give a shout out to my sister over in the UK, my UK sister, tisha. Let me tell you, tisha and I have been friends, or we met each other on social media, between the last six to eight years, and we were never met in person up until January of this year, when I had a overnight stay in London on my way back from Dubai to the US and we finally was able to meet in person. It was just an amazing, amazing, amazing time to get to see her in person and just seeing her beautiful face up close. But she sent me some tea from Fortnum and Mason and let me tell you I am so excited for us to be experimenting these different teas in the tea tasting room come this fall. So when you see a girl over here standing in the tea tasting room with her different teas from Fortnum and Mason, don't even say anything. You're going to indulge in the same thing as me. So definitely had to give a shout out for Tisha and I'm looking forward to trying these different teas on the podcast here in the fall as well.

Speaker 1: 1:47

Now, in today's episode, we're going to be talking about what is purpose to me, because I think purpose is such a powerful concept and it can truly shape our lives in the ways we may not even realize. So, my friend, grab your favorite cup of tea, get comfortable and let's get started. Okay Now. So what exactly is purpose? And I do want to read some responses from some of my friends and some of my listeners when I ask this question before I get into what purpose is for me, and one response that I got was purpose to me is the fulfillment of something. That was one response. The other one said a reason for something. I had another response that said, basically, purpose to them is equivalent to their why. And then, when asked what their why was, basically, personally, their life is to give the best version of themselves to their loved one, and professionally it would be to be that guiding light in individual's life, because they have the ability to empower others as well as show people what their true strengths are and how to build on that instead of harping on what happened in the past as well.

Speaker 1: 3:01

Another response someone said was they don't even know without saying the word. So again, there's different responses to what purpose is. I had another response who said that purpose to them you know what are their desires, who you are and who you want to be, what do you offer to others and how do you receive what is offered to you as well? So purpose is being of intent, not just existing, but living to your intentions, and I like that answer as well. Then I had another response that was saying their purpose is just to live, and I think that was one of my favorite answer as well just to live. But also, again, you don't have to have your purpose all figured out. So shout out to you guys for sending that feedback and giving me that response as well.

Speaker 1: 3:46

So, what exactly is purpose For me? Purpose is the driving force behind everything that I do. It's the reason I wake up in the morning and it's the motivation that keeps me going, even when things get tough, when life is challenging, when everything seems to be against me. It's what really keeps me motivated and what pushes me to be the best version of myself. But also, purpose is not what we do, but why we do it. It's also about finding that deeper meaning and connection to our actions. And I think for me and I'll share a quick story about how I got into my purpose or knew what it was I remember a few years ago and if you've been an active listener on the podcast, you know that I was in nursing school and I failed out by 0.5 points, because I'm going to always put that 0.05 points in my story because it is my story and that's how personal I took it.

Speaker 1: 4:39

But I remember in might've been 2015, when I failed out of my nursing program and I'm like, wow, you know, if you've gone to college, that if you fail one class, it's going to take you. If you fail one exam, it's going to take you 15 million exams to pull your grade back up to a grade that is up to your satisfaction, right? And I remember failing out of that program and I was like, okay, I was waiting that day for our results. And we were in the lobby of the dorm and the results came in on Blackboard and I saw the school and I was like, wow, I just knew that was it. I wasn't going to even try to fight the professors by asking them to round up, I just knew, obviously, what the rule was at the school and I was like, okay, what am I going to do?

Speaker 1: 5:37

And I remember the first two people that I called would have been my big sister, who lives in Canada, and one of my very, very close my best friend as well and just letting them know what happened. Cause I was just, I was too stunned to speak. Okay, when you know I like to talk and I was too stunned to speak, the emotional person that I am, I couldn't even foster up any sort of tears. I was just shocked, dumbfounded, I just could not, I was numb. And I remember thinking, wow, I'm going to be so depressed. And what do I do now? Like I moved from New Jersey to come all the way down here to Virginia to go to nursing school. What's my next plan?

Speaker 1: 6:07

And through the support of my friends and family, I started applying to different schools as well and explaining the story and everything. Got to a school when I moved to Georgia. Mind you, I would have called the school before you went to apply and explain the situation, because I know some nursing programs. They have a rule that if you fail out of a program you have to wait a year or two years before you can even apply. I got to this school, did the orientation, registered for classes, did everything you can think of as a new student, and about midway through the semester, while I'm bursting my brain trying to ensure that I'm getting all these grades in, my academic advisor called me and told me that the commissary in the office XYZ did that and she basically said they did an audit on my transcript and they're just realizing which didn't even make any sense, but they're just realizing that I failed out of the nursing program and they have a philosophy where if you're not successful in one nursing program, then they have the belief that you won't be able to be successful in their program because it's very rigorous. X, y, z that's pretty much the essence of how that conversation went, and I'm sitting there getting dumbfounded, don't know what to think or feel, just thinking in my brain again what's going to be the next solution. Because it's like, every time I'm trying to get to this nursing degree, it's always something.

Speaker 1: 7:20

And I remember switching to the respiratory therapy program. Now, granted, all in my brain, this time I wanted to be a nurse because I wanted to help people, I wanted to be a source of comfort for families. This is why it was one of my driving force behind becoming a nurse and, if I can be honest as well, to having a steady and stable job, because nurses are going to always be in demand. But the core of why I wanted to become a nurse was just to help people and give back to my community. And I was shattered and I did everything I can do for the next semester.

Speaker 1: 7:53

As far as the process of applying to the respiratory therapy program, taking the exam, I passed the exam I think it was either the second highest score or, whatever the case may be, got into the program. But my friend, something in the bottom of my heart, kept telling me Tanya, are you sure you want to do this? And this is nothing to do, or I'm not even against respiratory therapists, because they're very, very important when you come in the healthcare system. They play a crucial role, as well as nurses, and I'm just like that's not what you want to do. You want to be a nurse Because ultimately, the plan was get your degree in respiratory therapy and once you have that now, there's no way that they can deny you into nursing school or whatever.

Speaker 1: 8:29

That was how I was thinking at that time, at 24, 25 years old, and I decided I was going to take a year off. Because why am I taking all these classes? Why am I racking up student loans or putting my parents in expense, whatever the case may be, why am I doing all this when that was not what I wanted to do in life per se? And I remember taking a full year off and I was just working as a CNA and I'm like you know, okay, what are you going to do with your life, tanya? Because you're 26, now about to be 27. Something has got to give.

Speaker 1: 8:56

And my aunt told me about the field of public health. So, me being me, I did my research and applied to the Georgia State University, got accepted and went to do my public health degree. Now you're probably wondering, girl, what does this have to do with anything? But I wanted to see how. You know how many times I've had to pivot, evolve or get up, knocked down, got myself up again and do what I had to do. And I just remember that I had my first ever class at Georgia State University was interest in public health, and that was on a Saturday in the morning. Don't ask me why, my friend, I am a morning person, so the morning part is no problem. But why was I taking a class on Saturday? I don't know. That was when the class they had availability and I had to do what I had to do, okay, so the first class I went to was interest of public health, and that was taught by Dr Jack Corey Cormier and I'm giving him that shout out because he's still a constant in my life as a mentor and I remember just liking his vibe, you know, just getting to know he was a younger professor but also could relate to the students and really wanted us to do well as well. And I remember when I was approaching my last year, my final year in my undergrad program at Georgia State University with public health.

Speaker 1: 10:07

I did that study abroad stint to Uganda and I often tell people that I think the idea of me wanting to give back to people in my community, to be of service, was always in me from being a girl guys coming right up and see my mom helping other people and I thought I had to be a millionaire to do that. But I often tell people that my nonprofit, scrub Life Cures was birthed. It was born in Uganda because that's where the ideas that I always had everything just came to fruition and I felt like I gave birth to the nonprofit in Scrub Life Cures in Uganda and then came back to the US and Antigua and just took off 10 toes down me running, ensuring that I was able to fulfill my mission or live up to my purpose. But nevertheless, I came up from that study abroad stint and approaching the final year of undergrad, because we all know what happened in 2020. So I didn't get to walk across the stairs how I wanted to my graduation, to hear my name, but whatever.

Speaker 1: 11:03

But I remember going to Dr Cormier and I said to him you know, get ready to graduate and I need to know what am I going to do with this public health degree. What can I do to be of service to the community? Because, again, he was instrumental in me gaining some skills in public health, because I've worked alongside him and some other students on various different teams with members of the community and that's where, again, I started developing. Okay, this is what I want to do in life, because it comes naturally, it brings me joy, these different things. And he pulled out. I was in his office and he pulled out a blank orange piece of paper. Why was the paper orange? I don't know, cause usually you see those white printing paper right and he gave me. He pulled out an orange piece of paper and on that paper I'm sitting across from him behind his table and on that paper has I'm talking to my friend and I'm looking at this paper because, mind you, this happened in 2019 and we're in 2024 now and I still have this paper. And he wrote on the paper turn your life. And on the paper it's divided into different sections.

Speaker 1: 12:03

Because one of the big things for me was am I too old? So one thing on here he has okay, think, what are your interests? Then? I have on this paper, I have housing issues, food providing basic needs, you know, thinking about the EDP. What do you want to be known for? You know again something about link to care, to develop policies, inform. And then he has too old with a question mark because I kept talking about I'm old. I'm too old because at the time, in 2019, how old was I? I'm 29 now, you know.

Speaker 1: 12:31

Then I said what can I do my master's? And I said, first, keep telling me to get into epidemiology. He has it on this paper. Then I said I still want to go back to nursing because you know, I have a CNA background. And then I'm, like you know, at the same time, I'm sick of nursing. Now I want to be able to bring about change by way of being on the front line outside of being in a clinical setting.

Speaker 1: 12:50

He has this on this paper that he has check all government agencies, nonprofit organization programs. What are you going to do with your MPHMS certificates? He's telling me about Google scholars search. All this is on this paper, written very neatly too. And he has what services or skills base you want to provide to a post. I think I'm going to say apocalyptic world. I don't know, but he has a post-apocalyptic world. I think that's what it meant. He said what do you want to be known for? Again, and everything on this paper kept coming back to giving to the community, because at the end he has community at the bottom of this paper. And I felt liberated in the meeting but I'm like, okay, he somewhat gave me the push as well to go ahead and start the nonprofit.

Speaker 1: 13:33

And I think when I came out of his office after that meeting my friend I would have called my best friend and we were just talking and I was sharing, you know, some of what happened. And literally while I'm talking to him, walking in the lobby heading to my car, the name Scub Life Kids came about Because, again, simply while I was talking to my best friend, because I had a blog called All About the Scrub Life. I was a CNA, so I was a scrub life. I was a scrub wearing young girl, so that's just the birth behind, or the name of my nonprofit. And I know you're wondering, girl, what does it have to do with your purpose? But I say all that to say because, for me, when I look at this orange paper because I take it ever so often, when I look at it, and I had someone else who I spoke to, who basically in that conversation and I still have those cue to me community kept coming back, giving back, giving back, being of service, choosing yourself, putting yourself first before others All these things I have on that, also also on that cue cards too.

Speaker 1: 14:36

And for me it was about helping others, making a difference in my community and using my skills in public health to create positive change. And that realization was a turning point for me, my friend. It really was, because when you think about it, our purpose is not to pay bills and die in life or just to survive. Listen, you can have a purpose of helping humanity, but you also got to be specific. You got to get specific like what exactly and what way are you going to help the community? You could be someone who oh, I want to raise money for this charity. Again, you can change what you do year after year and still be focused on what that purpose is.

Speaker 1: 15:17

Because, look at me, I went from nursing to respiratory therapy to being a senior, taking a year off, to getting my degree in public health, to now being in grad school, getting my master's in public health as well, getting my degree in public health to now being in grad school, getting my master's in public health as well, working towards a health services policy management concentration, as well as maternal and child health. So again, you know, for me, I truly, genuinely feel that my purpose is to help and teach people in need, even the ones who think they don't need it. So for me, luckily, I am blessed to know what my purpose is. But to be honest with you, my friend, I didn't know. I didn't always know, and I'm not talking to you and expecting you to always know also what your purpose is going to be. But I want you to know that our purpose is not to just be in this planet to pay bills and just die. No, and you don't have to know what you're going to do every day in this world, and I think sometimes society places a pressure, some sort of pressure on us, or we put that pressure or that burden on ourselves to figure out what we want to do. You're not going to know what you want to do every day in this world and it doesn't have to be your purpose forever. You want to think about your overarching purpose, but you don't need to do the same thing every year, day in, day out. So my advice to you is to find what you're passionate about and think about. What do you want to focus on this year or the next one to three years? Like what can you genuinely dedicate one to three years on that will go to your overarching purpose? Because I know for me, my purpose is to serve my community, especially from a public health standpoint. I have a vision where I want my nonprofit organization to be global, on a global scale. So what can I do now that's going to work towards my overarching goal right now For me?

Speaker 1: 16:52

I've had to admit that, as a founder, as a CEO of a small startup nonprofit organization, there are things that I don't know. It doesn't matter how many classes I've taken in nonprofit certificates that I may have. There's just something that are not my strong suit, and one of that thing. One of that thing is grant writing, and I have to be honest with you, my friend and I. I took it upon myself recently to reach out to people in the community to help me, because I'm like you know I can't get to. I cannot fulfill a mission or my purpose without getting the help that I need as well, and I had a conversation recently with a grant writer and had to make the decision to seek that help, get that coaching so that I can take my nonprofit. I can gain new skills one but also take my nonprofit to the next level. So for me right now, one of the things that I can work on from a professional standpoint is to gain more grant writing skills, network more with other nonprofit founders within the next quarter of this year into next year so that I can work towards an overarching purpose, which is to serve my community as well.

Speaker 1: 17:52

Because, when you think about it, you don't have to have a purpose for your whole life, but you do have to have a purpose for now, because to me, this is where depression comes in and even the anxiety can even creep into your life, aka me. Because you're like I don't know what the purpose of my life is, I don't have a purpose, and that can be depression. To be honest, I'm not necessarily saying it's going to be clinically depression or anything like that, but it can lead to depression or anxiety. Because you're thinking what is my purpose in life? I don't have a purpose, I don't have it all figured out and no, if there's no purpose, you know you might be thinking why continue to live? And, to be honest, that's an unhealthy, unhealthy way to think and it's not a good path that you would want to travel down. Take it from me you definitely don't want to do that. So you want to often think positive about where you want to be in life, because when I think about the role of purpose in my daily life, for me it's like living with a sense, like living with a sense of purpose, to be honest, transform my life in so many ways, because the Tanya that's talking to you now and the Tanya from five, six years ago is not the same Tanya. This is a Tanya that has grown.

Speaker 1: 19:00

For me, getting a clear sense of what my purpose is definitely made my decisions clearer and my actions more intentional. I spoke to you in the podcast earlier in the year when I said my word for this year was to be was intentional, because I wanted to be intentional with every single thing that I do. So when you know your why, it becomes easier to say no to things that don't align with your purpose and to focus on what truly matters. And I found that honestly and I can, I I'm confident in saying this that I found that having a purpose brings a sense of fulfillment and joy that's hard to find anywhere else For me. I've sometimes see, I've sought validation from people who like well, girl, what? What are you thinking? You know? But I found that having a purpose it really does bring a sense of fulfillment and joy that is hard for me to find anywhere else.

Speaker 1: 19:45

To be honest, you know, sometimes if there's no purpose, you think what's my life?

Speaker 1: 19:51

You know we all have a purpose. You just got to define what your purpose is and then get specific, because I'll encourage you. You know you want to get a pen and paper and figure out what are you passionate about and see what is the overarching theme of your life and then you can take the necessary steps towards that to make it better. So you don't have to change your whole world, but you can change the people around you and you can change yourself as well, and that's what I did. You know there are so many different steps you can take to discover your purpose, because, let me tell you, I know that discovering your purpose is not always easy. It was not easy for me, but when I think back, I can often see that the overarching theme of my purpose was community, was to give back, was to teach, was to be of service, and that's going to be different for you. It's not how I found my purpose, my path to my purpose. It's not going to be how you find it, but there are some steps that you might take along the way that could help you find your purpose.

Speaker 1: 20:45

So you want to think about you want to reflect on your passions and your interests. My friend, think about the moments in your life when you felt most alive and fulfilled. Consider how you can use your unique talents and skills to contribute to something greater than yourself. On that orange paper that my professor wrote on, he said what services and skill base do you want to provide to the world essentially? So think about how your talent and skills can contribute to something that's greater than yourself. And, to be honest, don't be afraid to try new things and step out of your comfort zone. When I tell you that I had to have that honest conversation with the young lady who I spoke to maybe I'll have her on the podcast one day when it comes to wanting to develop that skill of grant writing with my nonprofit, because that's what I'm locked in on right now and I had to be transparent and honest and while I was nervous at first, it was just so. It felt so freeing to know that you know what. I stepped out of my comfort zone to be vulnerable with someone so that I can get necessary skills to take my nonprofit to the next step. So don't be afraid to try new things. So remember that finding your purpose is a journey and not a destination. I'm going to say it again Finding your purpose is a journey, not a destination.

Speaker 1: 21:57

So you want to think about sitting down, getting a pen and paper and thinking about what can I do to change myself and the people around me? Because if you have a purpose, it's going to make it very easy for you to wake up in the morning. Because you want to get to that. You want to do the necessary steps, you want to work towards fulfilling having that joy. You know like, think about it. When was the last time you sat down and actually journal? And I'm not saying to journal to be cute. When you journal, it needs to be intentional. It's not like a diary that you're going to be hiding, day diary X, y, z. No, you're going to be intentional about what you want and don't make journaling hard, because you know I'm an advocate when it comes to journaling and writing. I bought myself a new notebook. That's my manifestation journal. You know the questions. Think about the answers you want to the questions you want to ask yourself what is my purpose? What do you want to do? Think about it.

Speaker 1: 22:46

The profession that you're in right now doesn't have to be what you do in three years time, because I don't want you to misunderstand that because you have a purpose, mean that you must stay in a particular profession that you're in. Look at me. I thought I was going to be the Christina Yang of nursing. I was going to be a nurse practitioner and I was going to be the best NP you could ever find in the world. Like I was going to be the Christina Yang I married it great of nurse practitioners. You know what I mean. I'm where I am now, making my way in public health, having different connections, fulfilling my life purpose that, I think, is for me by way of public health and not necessarily in a clinical setting. You know what I mean. So the profession that you're in right now doesn't have to be what you're doing three years time or the rest of your life. If you're working for someone, it doesn't have to be that for the rest of your life. Either you can get a new job, you can create a new job.

Speaker 1: 23:34

There's so many things you can do, like, if you're struggling, sort of think about what you want to be in life. Like, think about what you want to be. You know you want to have that journal. Why am I here? What do I love? What do I want to do? What impact do I want to have on the world? Like, figure out what your purpose is, because you're not just here. I'm just saying we're not out here for you to just live on a pin, on a bill. You understand what I'm saying. We're here to live and find joy and fulfillment in our lives.

Speaker 1: 24:06

Because there's so many different misconceptions when it comes to finding your purpose and that sometimes can really trip us up, like one of them is the idea that your purpose has to be grand or world-changing. It doesn't have to be friend, it does not. That is not necessarily true. Your purpose can be something simple and personal, as long as it's meaningful for you, honestly. So, even though you're listening to me talk and I have a podcast talking to you, I have a nonprofit and you can probably see me giving back to my community. That's what's fulfilling to me, the other small personal things that I'm not probably sharing with you, that are also meaningful to me and that can contribute to my purpose as well. So I don't want you to think that your purpose has to be grand or world-changing. No, it has to be. It can be simple and personal, just as long as it's meaningful to you.

Speaker 1: 24:50

Another misconception that I had is that once you found, or once you find, your purpose, everything will be easy. Child, please, I wish it was. If it was, I'd be the happiest person on the planet. But in reality, living with your purpose, or living with purpose, involves a lot of hard work and perseverance. But it's worth it, and one of my mottoes on my mattress in my life is perseverance is key. I have that stick everywhere that you can think of. It's in my book. Perseverance is key because, at the end of the day, nothing is going to come easy. Think about scoring some sort of victory for yourself, or even humanity as well, you know.

Speaker 1: 25:35

So, yeah, to recap, I want you to remember that purpose is about finding that deeper meaning in your actions and connecting to your why. So what is our why? That is what purpose should be Finding that deeper meaning in our actions and connecting to our why? My journey to discovering my purpose has taught me so much. Like the person that's talking to you today, every now and then, I don't often give myself props, but I'm so proud of where I am in my life and I still have a lot, a lot, a lot of work to do, my friend, but discovering my purpose has taught me a lot and I hope that sharing it with you has been helpful, because remember, if you don't remember anything else, my friend, remember finding your purpose is a personal journey and it's okay to take your time with it. I was someone that was caught up with oh, I'm getting old and my age and my age. No, finding your purpose is a personal journey and it's okay to take your time with it.

Speaker 1: 26:25

And I want to leave you with this thought your purpose doesn't have to be something monumental. Again, your purpose doesn't have to be something monumental, it just has to be meaningful to you. So take the time to explore, reflect and don't be afraid to follow your heart. And I read that out of my journal as I'm talking to you, because this whole message, this last sentence that I just said, this statement. It's what I wrote in the beginning of my new manifestation journal that I bought and dubbed that. It was going to be the manifestation journal.

Speaker 1: 26:55

It's definitely that you know your purpose doesn't have to be something monumental, it just has to be meaningful to you. So take the time to explore, reflect and don't be afraid to follow your heart. That's all I got for you, my friend, but I want to hear your thoughts on today's episode, like what does purpose mean to you? You know, feel free honestly to share experiences with me on social media. You can send me an email. Look in the show notes. You'll see my email. You'll see the Tea with Tanya podcast, instagram and Facebook page. Let me know what does purpose mean to you, because we all have a purpose in life. But again, the important thing is is that it's meaningful to you and my purpose is meaningful to me. So definitely, let me know. Let's get this conversation going. I may end up going to Instagram live when this episode drops, but definitely share with me what purpose means to you.

Speaker 1: 27:47

Thank you so much for listening and I hope to see you back here in a tea tasting room next week. Thank you for joining me for another episode of Tea with Tanya. If you liked this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. Don't forget to follow on Instagram at Tea with Tanya Podcast. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly Tea Talk newsletter and, of course, rate on Apple or Spotify and subscribe wherever you listen. See you next time. I love you for listening.