February speaker Vasavi Kumar shared her five steps toward identifying your GPS — gifts, skills, and passions — and using them to find happiness and fulfillment in life.
Vasavi Kumar says that as a first-generation immigrant with Indian parents, she grew up fast. When she would visit India with them as a child, she saw so much more suffering than she did from their home on Long Island, New York.
She decided at a young age, “I’m going to do whatever I have to do to keep people from struggling.”
Today, she does that through her personal coaching business, drawing from her experience in business, entrepreneurship, mindfulness, spirituality, wellness, and media to help her clients find clear solutions to their daily struggles.
Identifying Your GPS
At the YWA Speaker Series event on Feb. 19, Vasavi led members through an exercise in finding their personal GPS — gifts, passions, and skills.
1. Remember Your Superpowers.
This step is all about remembering what lit you up and brought you joy as a child. What did you love to do? What were you good at?
2. Text Your Friends, Family, and Colleagues.
For most of us, it’s difficult to identify our own strengths — despite being quite good at recognizing our own (real or perceived) weaknesses. That’s why Vasavi says we should call on the people who care about us. Ask them what they would identify as your gift or skill.
3. Identify the Life Lessons That Guide You.
Think of your main accomplishments and the obstacles you’ve overcome. These will shed light on where you should focus your energy, Vasavi says. The words of wisdom she uses to keep herself on track are, “If it’s not a ‘hell yes,’ it’s an absolute no.” This is how she guards her time and makes sure she’s putting her efforts into the things that bring her the most happiness.
4. Look for Talent in Others.
What are the things you admire or envy in other people? You can turn the negative emotion of jealousy into a positive if you use it as a guiding light for what you want to improve in yourself.
5. Look At What You Love Learning/Talking About.
If you had 30 seconds to share one message with the world, what would it be?
Finding Your North Star
Identifying your goals, passions, and skills is all about creating a framework that guides you through the decisions you make — what jobs to take, what friends to keep, what projects or goals to pursue.
“If you’re able to tap into something that really makes you feel good, use that as your north star,” says Vasavi.
But to do it, you also have to “keep it real,” and be honest with yourself about your GPS and what it is in life that truly does make you feel good.
Vasavi also reminds us about the power of community. Looking around the room, she said, “There’s so much isolation in the world. Use avenues like this to make connections with people who will be there for you.”
About Vasavi
Vasavi Kumar is a licensed therapist and certified coach who works to help people find greater fulfillment in their lives. You can learn more about her journey and her business at her website, or follow her on Instagram @highervasavi.
About YWA
Learning from and connecting with a variety of professional women in Austin is a priority for YWA, and the group’s monthly speaker series is a great way to take advantage of that opportunity.
If you’re interested in being a part of the organization’s opportunities for learning, networking, and serving the community, attend an event or consider joining. Sign up to be reminded of the next open enrollment period, coming in April 2020!
