Do you really care about what you do? Do you think it’s important?
I know this is a tough question to answer, because we may not want to admit the answer. We do our work because we need the money, perhaps even because we are good at it and enjoy it a bit (or at least used to).
But, honestly, most work isn’t important enough to us that we’d do it even if we didn’t get paid.
I know this is a high standard, very idealistic. But stay with me here. Honest, I’m not trying to have you be frustrated.
Imagine that money is no longer necessary – perhaps a Star Trek kind of universe. You now have the chance to spend your time doing only the things you want. Sure, you’ll play around for a long time, enjoying the freedom, but at some point you’ll realize that there has to be something more to life than just hanging out.
So imagine that you choose work which IS deeply important to you. I don’t know whether that’s raising your kids, or helping the disadvantaged, or fixing some of the deep problems of the world. What will YOU choose?
Now that we’ve come back from our mental vacation, here’s the big question: How possible is it for you to incorporate what you’ve learned into your work? When you complain about your boss not letting you, I’m going to ask why you choose to let that be a barrier. When you tell me that the company culture doesn’t support this way of thinking, I’m going to ask you why you care about people with smaller ambitions.
These are VERY challenging questions.
Over the course of my career, I’ve had several chances to contribute in ways I thought were deeply important:
- As a manager, I worked hard to create a team culture in which everybody was maximizing their contribution and working toward a powerful goal – even when my bosses didn’t particularly support me.
- I worked with other corporate coaches to help change the culture of the entire company I worked for – a Sisyphean task!
- Now, as a business coach, I’m helping my clients to do things with their companies that they never thought possible.
Even if you just spend ten minutes a day working on things which are important to you, it’s a start. It’s the germ of inspiration and energy which may grow into wonderful things.
ADVERTISEMENT: I just started a blog, The Values Based Business, which talks about purpose, grounding, and values from the business owner’s point of view. Check it out if you have any interest in creating your own company or leading a group toward a powerful goal!