Make Your Work in Keeping with Your Purpose ― Leonardo Da Vinci
Your job isn’t just a pay check. We spend most of our waking time at work and if you hate what you do, or if it simply doesn’t resonate with what you value, well, that’s a very poor choice of how to spend your time and life!
But before you get frustrated and upset, check out my watertight ways to ensure your work has Meaning & Purpose!
1. Be Yourself
Be true to yourself. Don’t force your nature. If you’re no good at managing people, perhaps you reconsider that latest offer from your boss, even if the pay is amazing. When we impose ourselves into roles that are not our natural aptitude, they end up biting us in the proverbial, creating frustration and disengagement. Ask yourself what your true values are, who you want to inspire and who you truly admire. Don’t have doubts, listen to your inner guidance and tune in with yourself.
2. Use Your Talents
We all have incredible talents and gifts! The hardest part is to discover and accept them. Make sure you’re using your innate talents and skills in your work every day, regardless what your role actually is. If you’re an accountant, with the extraordinary gift of empathy, forget Excel for 3 minutes and offer some support to your unusually nervous colleague. You’ll feel happy, re-energised ready to have fun with the account balances!
3. Be Independent
Avoid micromanagement and take initiative: autonomy is a great stimulus. I’ve always felt drawn to certain kinds of work that provided me a great degree of autonomy. Now, as a business owner, I find my independence one of the mostly purpose-charged elements of my job.
Be your own boss, even you have one! I’m not encouraging insubordination or disobedience. Have a plan, anticipate problems and issues, foresee opportunities and seek growth. This kind of freedom will give your work deep meaning.
4. Community
I can never highlight enough the importance of our communities! The quality of our lives is directly affected by the quality of our relationships and that’s why fostering a well-rounded community of individuals is so important, especially in the workplace. Give people the opportunity to share who they are with their colleagues, and the chance to create the kind of place in which they personally want to work.
Want to know how to spread kindness in the office? If you missed it, check what I wrote just last month! [CLICK HERE]
5. The Big Picture
Don’t see your job or role merely as an insignificant cog in the wheel. Notice the big picture of the magnificent global machine you’re part of! Tasks alone don’t define contribution. Each assignment we engage in has a ripple effect that generates multiple outcomes. We are all making a difference if we know where to look!
6. Discover the Meaning Within
Having a huge impact on thousands of people isn’t the only way to work with meaning. Think of how your job impacts your life, from within. It’s your job that pays bills, puts food on the table and helps your children achieve their educational dreams. Perhaps your overtime provides you extra time off with your spouse, favourite book or vacation. Money can buy things, but things aren’t our purpose. Our job - through the material objects we can afford to buy, the experiences we can enjoy and the goals we can achieve - gives meaning to our daily routine. Praise be!!
I really hope that little lot encourages you to have a positive attitude towards your job. And if that’s still not how you’re feeling, you know what to do!
Have a great purposeful day,
Andrew
