There’s a parable in the Bible about a man who stumbled upon a hidden treasure buried in a field. The discovery filled him with such immense, uncomplicated joy that he immediately went and sold everything else he owned just to buy that specific piece of land. He knew, instantly, its supreme value to him.
While the parable has its contextual meaning, I believe this story holds powerful metaphorical weight for all of us. Over the next few posts, starting here, we’ll unpack this idea.
One hidden treasure. That’s all it took for the man to come alive. Could your restlessness, that feeling something vital is missing, stem from your undiscovered hidden treasure?
What is this hidden treasure? What unique passion, purpose, or way of living would ignite that same deep joy and unwavering commitment? This article begins the quest to find that field you’d joyfully invest your all in.
Defining Treasure On Your Own Terms
First things first. The hidden treasure has nothing to do with buried gold or a winning lottery ticket (though financial ease is certainly helpful). In this context, your unique treasure is far more intrinsic and personal.
It could take countless forms, including:
- Uncovering your core purpose, the ‘why’ that fuels your actions and contributions.
- Engaging in deeply fulfilling creative work that allows your authentic voice or vision to emerge.
- Living a life meticulously aligned with your non-negotiable core values, even when it’s difficult.
- Building and nurturing truly authentic, supportive, growth-oriented relationships.
- Cultivating a specific state of being. For example quiet contemplation or joyful service.
- Fully expressing and sharing a unique talent or gift you’ve perhaps downplayed or ignored.
This treasure is based on your internal compass, not external scorecards or societal applause. Your treasure won’t, and indeed shouldn’t, look exactly like anyone else’s.
Where Your Hidden Treasure Might Be Hiding
These personal treasures aren’t typically lying out in the open, marked with a giant ‘X’. Discovering them often requires digging a little deeper than our surface-level awareness, tuning our attention differently, and learning to listen to the subtle whispers and nudges from our own life and being.
Where might clues to your treasure be hiding? Consider these potential sites:
- Moments of Flow: When do you get so completely absorbed in an activity that hours feel like minutes? That state of effortless focus, described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, often points towards work deeply aligned with your natural strengths and intrinsic passions.
- Childhood Joys: Reflect back. What did you love doing purely for the sheer fun of it, before the weight of ‘shoulds’, expectations, and responsibilities descended? Those early, unadulterated passions can hold surprising wisdom about your core nature.
- Persistent Curiosities: What subjects, skills, ideas, or questions do you find yourself constantly drawn to, perhaps reading about late at night or exploring in your spare time, even if they seem ‘unproductive’ or entirely ‘impractical’? Follow that thread of natural fascination.
- Righteous Frustration: What problems in the world, your community, your industry, or even your own life genuinely anger or frustrate you? That potent energy often points towards a mission or purpose you feel deeply compelled to address or contribute to solving.
- Sparks of Life: Pay close, mindful attention to the activities, conversations, places, or types of people that leave you feeling genuinely energised, expansive, inspired, and authentically yourself, rather than feeling depleted, small, or like you’re wearing a mask.
- Constructive Envy: Notice when you see someone else doing, being, or creating something that sparks a pang of longing, not bitter jealousy, but a resonance, a feeling of “I wish I could do/be/create that too.” What unmet desire or dormant potential within you is that feeling highlighting?
Why Treasures Often Stay Hidden (The Overgrowth)
If identifying this personal treasure is so rewarding, why isn’t everyone living in joyful alignment with theirs? Because, frankly, the path to discovery is often obscured by thick, tangled ‘overgrowth’ which can be internal and external barriers that make seeing clearly difficult.
Common barriers that keep treasures hidden include:
- External Expectations: We are constantly bombarded with messages from society, media, and sometimes even well-meaning families, about what success should look like – often narrowly defined by financial wealth, status symbols, or conventional career ladders. This external noise can easily drown out the quieter whispers of our internal knowing.
- Fear: A powerful, multi-headed beast. Fear of judgment (“People will think I’m foolish!”), fear of failure (“What if I try and fall flat on my face?”), fear of the unknown, fear of financial insecurity if the treasure path seems less lucrative, fear of not being ‘good enough’ or ‘qualified enough’ to pursue it.
- The Tyranny of Busyness: Our modern lives often feel overwhelmingly packed, filled with urgent tasks, endless notifications, and constant demands on our attention. This leaves precious little mental, emotional, or physical space to slow down, reflect, and explore the truly important work of self-discovery. We’re simply too busy managing the demands of the good field to even look for the treasure.
- Limiting Beliefs: Those deeply ingrained, often subconscious, stories we tell ourselves – “I’m not a creative person,” “It’s too late for me to change direction,” “Meaningful work rarely pays well,” “I need to be sensible and practical above all else.” These beliefs act like invisible fences, keeping us from exploring the field where our treasure might lie.
- Neglecting Prioritised Reflection: Simply not carving out consistent, dedicated, undistracted time to disconnect from the external noise and deliberately tune into ourselves – our feelings, desires, curiosities, and discontent.
Practical Tools for Unearthing Your Treasure
Ready to roll up your sleeves and start digging with intention?
While the journey of discovery is uniquely yours, here are some practical tools and exercises that can help you clear the overgrowth, uncover valuable clues, and gain clarity on your personal treasure:
- Clarify Your Core Values: What principles are truly non-negotiable for a life well-lived for you? Integrity? Freedom? Creativity? Connection? Contribution? Make a list of potential values, then honestly narrow it down to your top 3-5. Now ask: How could I design my work, relationships, and daily life to actively honour these core values more centrally, rather than occasionally? Knowing your values acts as a reliable compass pointing towards your treasure.
- Mine Your Joy & Energy: Grab a notebook or open a document. Over the next week, consciously note down specific moments or activities (big or small, work-related or personal) where you felt genuine joy, deep satisfaction, energized engagement, or authentic aliveness. At the end of the week, look closely for recurring themes, patterns, environments, or types of interaction. What do these moments have in common?
- Vision Your Ideal Day/Week: Let go of ‘practicality’ for a moment. Imagine a truly fulfilling day or week, one perfectly aligned with your ‘treasure’ fully expressed. Describe it in rich detail from the moment you wake up to when you go to sleep. What are you doing? Who are you interacting with? How do you feel (energised, peaceful, purposeful, creative)? What core elements make this vision so compelling?
- Map Your Curiosities & Skills: List subjects you’re endlessly curious about, problems you enjoy solving, and skills you genuinely enjoy using (even if you don’t consider yourself an ‘expert’). Where do these interests and aptitudes intersect? Where could deliberately exploring one of these curiosities lead, even just as a small experiment? Commit to taking one tiny step this week to investigate one item on your list.
- Ask Powerful Reflective Questions: Set aside regular time (even 15 minutes) to journal or simply ponder questions like: “When do I feel most authentically, unapologetically myself?” “What problem or injustice in the world breaks my heart or fires me up so much I feel compelled to act, even in a small way?” “If fear and financial constraints were completely removed, how would I choose to spend my days?”, “What unique blend of my skills, experiences, and passions positions me to make a contribution only I can make?”
The Unmatched Joy of Finding Your Field
Uncovering your personal hidden treasure is arguably one of life’s most rewarding and vital quests.
As the simple parable illustrates so powerfully, the discovery itself, the moment of recognition, brings an unparalleled sense of clarity and motivation, making all the digging, searching, and reflection profoundly worthwhile.
This journey towards identifying and embracing your ‘treasure’ is the very heart of living purposefully and defining success on your own terms. What clues to your treasure have you already uncovered, perhaps without realising their significance? Share your thoughts or reflections below!
For further exploration on this path, explore our articles on Finding Fulfilment or Making Difficult Choices aligned with your values, and be sure to subscribe for continued inspiration on crafting your uniquely meaningful life.
