Bring your best self to light - August 2008
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Finding meaning in work you don't love....
This month, I have decided to reprint in full an article from Laura Berman Fortgang about meaning and work...enjoy!
Now What?®
Success
This month's article is by Laura Berman Fortgang, Now What? Founder and Creator
How to Find Meaning in Work You Don't Love
The pay is good; you've worked your way up to some perks and benefits and yet
every now and then you wonder if you're not meant to be doing something else.
It's likely that any inkling of making a change is snuffed out by the reality of
maintaining a lifestyle. While our grandparent's generation would not dare to
search for happiness and meaning in their work, today's man (and woman) yearns
to do work they love as part of the complete package of success. But how many
people are really finding that? And what do you do if you're not one of the
lucky ones who have?
Many of us still live with the notion that like Thoreau, we have to chuck it all
and make radical changes to have a meaningful existence. Or that we have to
start a non-profit or give away all our money to prove that we lead a worthy
life. That is just not true. From years of working with folks to find career and
life satisfaction, I can tell you that meaning is right under your nose and the
changes needed to recognize that and live it are not that huge.
The bottom line is that finding meaning is about connecting versus disconnecting
to your situation. Usually, when we are dissatisfied, after bitching and
moaning, we numb out. We try to unplug from what bothers us so it can stop
bugging us. The key to turning that around is to plug back in and let the
discomfort be the motivation to change. In other words, stay conscious, drink
less, work out more and start connecting!
Here are some places to start:
Connect With People
You might think you know everything there is to know (or care to know) about the
people you work with or interact with in your community. Chances are, you know
very little and that if you were more curious, asked more questions and took on
the mentality of a learner instead of a judger, you would start feeling humbled
and more compassionate towards people. When compassion grows, connection grows
and meaning results. Exchanges feel more fulfilling and satisfying instead of
being pat or superficial. Relationships take on new meaning that can make the
workplace or any environment more palatable and even, dare we say, enjoyable.
Connect With Strengths--
If you don't love your work, then what you do there you probably do by rote.
That means you have long ago disconnected from what you are good at or what your
natural strengths are. (They could be one and the same, they could be distinct)
What can happen when you take your attention off your strengths is that you stop
using them in creative ways and you stop exploring how to grow through them. Get
back your verve by taking a class to take your skills to the next level or
re-prioritize your job description (with some negotiation with the boss) and do
more of what you are great at. This reconnection with your talents will lend
meaning to the job at hand and make you feel like you are contributing something
important. If you've long gone without recognition for what you are truly built
to do, no wonder you find work lackluster!
Connect By Playing
If you are not having fun at work anymore, you may have also let that dullness
creep into the rest of you life. Finding meaning in work you don't love is going
to mean getting fun back in your life somewhere to survive it and maybe even
move to thriving in it. It's important for you to reconnect with what fun means
for you. Is it being more lighthearted in the office? Is it going to lunch with
old buddies or colleagues? Is it doing crazier stuff on the weekends or taking
on a new hobby? Whatever it is, just get to it! Getting back to playing will
reduce stress, make relationships more enjoyable,and help you be more creative
because your brain will be oxygenated instead of ridden with anxiety.
Connect With Something Bigger--
For some people, the focus on themselves and all the attention it takes to
survive a so-so job is too small a game to play. If it's draining and seems to
never end, using the job to create more
purpose for yourself gets you playing a bigger game. Connecting with the good
your company does (if it does) even if it's many steps removed from your own
job, can help you feel connected to a bigger game that matters and brings you
meaning. Another way to take on a bigger game that could engage you, might be to
take on an initiative that could improve the workplace conditions or change a
policy. You could also rewrite your job description in such a way that it
affects a greater pool of people beside yourself. Alternately, you could try
using your company's wealth to create an internal non-profit to bring a benefit
to a cause that matters to you with the energy of a larger entity behind you.
Banks sponsoring community projects, news organizations donating cameras so kids
can document their lives after a tragedy like Katrina, agencies giving their
folks time off to volunteer. These have all been done and are precedence for how
you can use your job to create a more meaningful endeavor if you're craving one.
Connect With All The Job Allows
There are a lot of people who stop looking at their job as something that should
make them happy and instead use their job as a way to make themselves happy.
What I mean is that people see the job as a way to support other activities
outside work. For example, Craig, an old client of mine, made peace with his job
and saw it as a way to be able to afford to do what he really loved---performing
on his guitar. Because he could afford to, he played for free at coffee houses,
schools and civic centers. He eventually was offered money to perform and
although it was never enough to replace his job, he was happy to have the extra
income and he donated 10% of it to a non-profit that provided instruments to
inner-city kids who could not otherwise afford them. He created plenty of
experiences that mattered to him greatly because his job afforded him the
opportunity.
One more place to look to find meaning in a job you don't love is to fall back
on gratitude the way you might fall into bed after a long day's work. Melt in to
the feeling and realize that all you have and do is supported by the income you
make. Certainly, don't prostitute your soul, but do realize there is more power
in what you do than the mere daily transaction of showing up and doing your job.
Meaning comes from connection and feeling. Don't check your heart and soul at
the door, but rather, keep making choices that keep you conscious and growing.
That will feel meaningful and the risks involved will gradually lead you to
where you wish to be...feeling good and loving it.
About the Now What?® Program
It's not what you do, but who you get to be. Find out more about the Now What?®
program
here.
Now What coaching? - Week 1
I thought for fun...that over the next 12 months I would outline the steps in the Now What process...and you can even play with it yourself if you choose..In Week 1...the focus is on getting clear about what you HATE about your current situation...take the time to get really specific about it..e.g. don't say I hate my job...say I hate: my 75 minute commute, my office with no natural light, the twits I have to work with..and then for each specific complaint, identify a specific solution e.g. for your commute...could you work from home 1-2 days a week?
Have fun!
Consciousness shifting
This work is both very systematic and intuitive. Its fundamental plank is
kinesiology (using the body as a compass...know your gut feeling?..it's there
for a reason!) . I'm often genuinely humbled and delighted by the benefits
people get..although there are people it just doesn't suit...and hey, that's
fine too! Different strokes for different folks!
I'm still offering
complimentary sessions
to all readers of this newsletter
and you can read some more of the testimonials
here.
I'm currently re-considering my strategy of the first session being complimentary...so this might be the last month I'm offering just straight complimentary introductory sessions...but at the same time I want to make sure people get a taste of the work...so I will still work to ensure people get access to the work..but perhaps not just in the way I'm offering it..
If you have already availed of the complimentary session, why not consider booking another...just click here..it's just €65 for subscribers to this ezine..consider it part of your summer clean-up! If none of the dates/times available suit you...let me know and I'll see if I can facilitate you..
Note that there are three other coaches now available at this link. We've been trained around the same time..Ewa is from Poland so if you know any Polish speakers that you think might be interested in the work...please forward this to them.
Here are some testimonials
Anne Walsh is brilliant at what she does and this method is completely illuminating" Cate Mackenzie. www.catemackenzie.com
"I didn't know what to expect from my session with Anne, but it turned
out to be both fascinating and helpful. For me it was great to be led
through a process which cut through all that analytical "head" stuff, and to
be able to relax, let go and just see what happens.
Anne provided a very warm, caring and safe environment, "testing" all
conclusions and statements before proceeding to the next stage. During the
week which followed our session I moved forward rapidly both work-wise and
socially, free from some of the unhealthier emotions which have been holding
me back. I will definitely go back for more. Thank you Anne!"
Sara Champion To subscribe to fabulous free film finance and distribution tips, the address is http://www.BestFilmMaker.com and my new very inexpensive e-book "Finance Your Film" is on http://www.BestFilmMaker.com/book
My session with Anne was very enlightening. She created a professional and safe environment in which to work. We tackled some issues that had seemed huge, and were causing me to feel stuck. The 'Consciousness Shifting' part of the session enabled me to come up with ideas and solutions that had not previously presented themselves; some of these seemed to 'settle in' over the next day or so. This is coaching with a difference, and the difference is subtle and powerful. Irene Pizzie irene@irenepizziecoaching.co.uk;
Bits & Pieces - Special summer offer - Master your Money e-book (full of practical clear easy to follow steps to transform your personal finances..ONCE and FOR ALL! and 15 great bonuses...including a workbook on joy, stop procrastinating, Excel spreadsheet to help with your new personal finance strategies and lots more!
Special Summer Offer: With the infamous "credit crunch" beginning to bite a bit (hey, wonder if a crunch can bite...or am I wandering around in Cliche town here!) ...I'm working on re-launching the Master Your Money programme...but it will probably be end of August/early September before I have it completed....however, I do have it on offer for $27 instead of $47 for the next while...so it might be worth your while to snap it up! It's a really clear practical personal finance programme for you...if you have decided for once and for all to sort your money stuff...get out of debt, watch your spending, start a pension plan etc. It's clear and practical...and written from experience! Check it out today...I don't know how much longer I'm going to leave it at this price!
Recommended - what I'm reading/watching
DVD- This Life: A few months ago, I got the boxed set of this 1990's serial about a group of lawyers in London. I had watched one series in my previous life..(housemate in Dublin!) and loved it. This is now a real treat for me...sitting down to watch an episode or two of this. It's gritty, (hey, check out the sink full of washing up in series 1!), witty and has great characters...
Chocolate and Health. I love chocolate. Full stop. But if you want to combine a love of chocolate and healthy eating...check out this site.
http://www.sweetsensations.uk.com/
The Broken Window by Jeffrey Deaver. One thing I haven't given much thought to over the years is the issue of online privacy. However, this novel is making me re-think. This rather brilliant novel shows how data mining (the skill of recording information and developing trends from it) could be used to cover up crime and actually implicate an innocent person. When you consider how much information is stored about us on an online basis (consider Amazon's "ability" to give us recommendations about what to read and listen to..) it would be frighteningly easy for our entire lives to be available as raw data for businesses...