Find Your True North

By Lexi Adams

What is your calling? Your passion, your talent, your specialty — the thing that drives the purpose behind your life? That is your true north.

But this idea carries far more weight than simply naming something you love. Your true north is the idea that tips the scale when you are faced with a decision. This passion can make the difference in what job you take, the place you live, or even the person you marry.

During my last semester of college, I had the privilege of meeting with Mike Jutt to seek wise counsel, learn about his career, and hopefully gain some clarity on what direction I should be heading. While our conversation left an impact in more ways than one, I walked away from it knowing exactly what my true north was. And for the first time in my life, I was able to say it with confidence.

I know I want to be a public speaker.

That means I need to find a job that puts me in front of others, gives me the energy and time after work to pursue that part of my career, and provides me with experiences I can draw from when I step on a stage.

The idea of having the world as your oyster was always something that excited me, until I really did have the opportunity to pursue any avenue I wanted. It felt overwhelming and directionless. Although that idea was supposed to represent freedom, the weight of making the "right" decision felt crippling. Once Mike helped walk me through what my true north was, I really felt like I could walk forward enthusiastically with steps that aligned with where I knew I wanted to go. The best part: pursuing your true north does not mean sacrificing everything else. It gives you the freedom and peace to make decisions that set up every area of your life for success and purpose.

What is your true north? Maybe you want to travel the world. Maybe you want to make it to every one of your child's sporting events. Maybe it is reaching the C-suite, or being fully present at home. Whatever it is, the question worth asking is this — what opportunities or experiences will set you up to actually pursue it?

Mike Jutt is someone who has lived this out. He has been an incredible father, husband, and has lived out his faith in ways that have inspired everyone around him. He is unwavering in his pursuit of his true north, and he has still built a wildly successful professional career, becoming Vice President of Research and Development at Procter and Gamble.

Your true north should always be the #1 priority when making any decision. It allows your nerves to be calmed when making a decision and pushes you to move forward enthusiastically instead of dragging your feet.

Finding your driving factor is more than an exercise — it is fundamental to the way you make decisions. The earlier you define your true north, the sooner the decisions you make start to feel like they have real purpose behind them.

So I will leave you with three questions:

Do your choices reflect your desires?

Do your actions propel you toward your north?

Are you allowing your true north to be the unwavering point on your compass — the thing everything else revolves around?