Finding Purpose & A New Creative Direction
Jo Cruse | Purpose & Finding A New Direction
As an entrepreneur and high achiever, Jo led her life in the fast lane - until the failure of divorce and depression taught her to choose a life that was more authentic and to help others to do the same.
Jo shares how this led to a journey from Alaska to Argentina and what she found out on the way, connecting with social enterprise founders and learning to say “how fascinating” in the face of failure.
“You can choose to move forward, go into the unknown and create something new.”
Key Highlights
2:00 Letting go of what happened and moving forward positively. You can choose to move forward, go into the unknown and create something new.
2:30 Realised at that up until that point her career and life in general was marked by a lack of authenticity.
8:00 Constructing your identity through external and changeable things e.g. job title, who you are to others, son/daughter
11:00 Documenting social enterprise stories.
15:00 Idea of going on a journey and relinquishing control.
16:00 Embracing exploration, “to allow one’s self the freedom to just explore.”
16:30 Creating a life that is purposeful.
“Say ‘how fascinating’ after failing.
Frame it in a way that makes it interesting rather than uncomfortable.”
18:30 Using hindsight to learn from negative experiences.
22:30 Give yourself the space to explore yourself. “Might not know where you’re headed, but you can explore where you think you might be headed.”
22:45 3 main takeaways that helped this process are: community, routine and “How Fascinating.”
22:40 Jo talks about living with OCD and the constant anxiety.
25:00 When she was low she felt that her life was at the whim of something out of her control. The lack of control caused her a lot of anxiety. Does meditation and journaling to give control and makes the first priority everyday is herself.
26:00 Saying “how fascinating” after failing. Find what you do wrong fascinating. Frame it in a way that makes it interesting rather than uncomfortable. That way you’ll learn faster and get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
🔍 Further Reading
What is Positive Psychology & Why is It Important?
(https://positivepsychology.com/what-is-positive-psychology-definition/)The PERMA Model: Your Scientific Theory of Happiness
(https://positivepsychology.com/perma-model/)
“ You might not know where you’re headed, but you can explore where you think you might be headed. ”
💡 Key Lessons
Moments of hardship of breakdown can turn into opportunities to create something new
Holding too much control creates anxiety, practices like journalling and mediation can help ease the uncomfortable feelings each day
The way we see failure can be destructive or a source of inspiration, it’s up to us the perspective we choose
💭 Coaching Questions
What routines are supporting your mind and wellbeing?
What’s a new direction you want to explore?
What’s a past failure you could learn more from?