Meaning? Who has the time for meaning?
Sometimes in the pressure of the day to day, we can lose the sense of meaning in our work. Amidst the deadlines, meetings and emails, something gets lost and, eventually, work can become detached from what it means for you.
If you’re feeling like you’re so busy that you’ve lost touch with why you’re doing what you’re doing, my first suggestion is to breathe deeply. Then give yourself a little time to take a step back and consider how you find meaning in your work.
One path to find the meaning in your work is to reconnect with your values: what’s important to you? Work is most meaningful when you are acting in alignment with your personal values.
Take time to find meaning
Here’s an exercise I do with clients to help them connect with their values:
Go for a walk on your lunch hour or book some time, even 20 minutes, for a meaningful meeting with yourself! Think about a time, even a brief moment, when you were really engaged and energized in your work. Recall what was happening, who was with you, what you were working on. Get such a complete picture in your mind that you can actually feel that energy again.
What made that experience so engaging and energizing? For example: I loved being part of the brainstorming team, or I really enjoyed being there for someone on my team who was struggling, or I was jazzed leading at the front of the room.
Go deeper. What values were you honouring in that experience? Take for example, ‘I enjoyed the brainstorming team’. Within that experience there could be several values for different people. One value honoured could be ‘Creativity’ or it could be ‘Learning from Others’ or it could be ‘Risk-taking’. Look for your own unique values in the experience you found energizing. Name your values and write them down. You could even put them on your computer screen.
Values that work
Now, that you have some greater clarity about what some of your values are, you can look at your work. Where do you, or could you, honour those values in your work today? Look for ways to act on your values. Let’s say you found ‘Risk Taking’ as a value – what opportunities are there to express it? You could put forward some new ideas to your boss or your team, reach out and connect to someone new in another department or just share your passion for snowboarding over lunch.
When you start to honour your values more consciously, you will start to find the meaning in your work. Take the time to find meaning – I think you’ll find it meaningful!
Photos by Darrren Hester and Michele Catania. Licensed under CC.
Cheryl – great point. It's so easy to forget what motivates us – the meaning we take from what we do – in the rush of the day to day. I love the idea of a few brief moments to reflect during the day. One other technique: start the day by breathing deeply, counting to 10. Sounds odd – but it's a great way to center yourself and visualize what needs to happen in the coming hours. Rather than diving right in a few moments of deep breathing can make all the difference.
Dan – what a great practice to start your day! Slowing your breathing, even a couple of breaths counting 3 or 4 on both the inhale and exhale, works well to help shift your energy and perspective in any situation. Then you can shift your thinking to what’s meaningful or important in this situation.