[Honest Thoughts from 15 Years of Service] ✨ Can't find your sense of purpose? A magic question to help you love yourself in just 1 minute
Hello, this is Omitsu ☺️
【📢 Announcement】
Starting in January, "Omitsu-sensei's Caregiving Class" will begin!
I'm sharing a special “trial lesson” of the content with you today.
Tuesdays are for 【Mindset】 topics 🌱
I'll be sharing thoughts that nourish your heart, such as ways of thinking that make you feel a bit more at ease and how to maintain your motivation.
“Lately, I don't feel a sense of purpose in my work...” 😔
When you've been working in caregiving for a long time, don't you sometimes feel that way?
I felt the same way.
When I first started working in caregiving, I was desperate just to get through the tasks right in front of me amidst the dizzying busyness of the special nursing home. I hardly had any time to talk slowly with the residents 💦
But as I gained experience and got used to the work, I gradually became able to “get through” my tasks efficiently and without mistakes.
That’s when I suddenly noticed a sense of discomfort.
“Is this really the kind of caregiving I wanted to do?” 🤔
It’s true that I help with care that is difficult for them to do alone, and I get thanked by the residents. But there was a part of me that felt like I was just going through the motions.
I entered this world with the desire to “be useful to others” after experiencing caring for my own family, but have I forgotten something important along the way...? 🧐
If you are currently feeling the same way, having lost your sense of purpose and not knowing what to do, please listen to my story for a moment.
💡 You don't have to try to “get it back”
When people stop feeling a sense of purpose, many panic and think they “have to get it back.”
But is that really true?
A sense of purpose is not something you search for, nor is it something you get back. It is something that is right by your side before you even realize it.
This is a quote from part-time lecturer KEN-sensei that I will introduce in this class.
【Part-time Lecturer】 Introducing KEN-sensei 🧑🏫
He has been facing residents in the caregiving field for 26 years.
He has experience in a wide range of departments including residential, day care, and short stay, and currently works as a unit leader and care manager at a special nursing home 🏡
What he values is “resident-first” care and building a team where staff can support each other 🤝
Supported by country life and his family, he shares the realities of caregiving and his daily realizations in gentle words 🌿
As we gain experience, our values, what we can do, and what we seek all change.
It might actually be natural for the sense of purpose you felt in the past to no longer fit who you are today.
So, you don't have to force yourself to go back to who you used to be.
✨ A “magic question” you can do in just 1 minute
Before searching for something as big as a “sense of purpose,” why not start by facing who you are right now?
To do that, I’d like to share with you a “magic question” that I practice myself.
It is to ask yourself,
“What was one small way I was a ‘help’ to someone in my work today?” 🧐
⭐️
Gently rubbing the back of a resident who looked anxious.
⭐️ Helping a busy colleague with their work just a little bit.
⭐️ Saying hello with a smile when a new staff member looked troubled.It can be something truly trivial like that.
Even without big achievements or words of “thank you,” your actions are definitely supporting someone.
As you continue to ask this question, you should be able to realize that there is a lot of value in your daily work without having to search for something as big as a sense of purpose.
What was your “small help” today? 💭
If you'd like, please let me know in the comments ☺️
📚 For those who want to think more deeply
💬 KEN-sensei's words 🧑🏫
Please be sure to check out KEN-sensei's article as well.
It is packed with warm hints about “sense of purpose” that will help you relax your shoulders ☺️
🌟 Finally
Even if you can't find your sense of purpose, you are not alone 💪😁
The fact that you worked hard for someone today is truly wonderful in itself. ✨
If you felt this article was “a little helpful” or “made your anxiety feel lighter,” it would encourage me if you could give it a like or follow me 😊
Your “likes” are what encourage us seniors to post every day!