When it comes to creating meaningful work, you can start right where you are. You don’t need to leave your current position, make any hasty moves, or start all over to begin to feel like you’re making a difference and being useful.
Meaningful work can be a platform that allows you to fulfill your purpose. Maybe you don’t absolutely love your job, but it warrants you the opportunity to do the things you love. This could be a great reason to see your current job as meaningful work.
The question most of us have is how do I know if what I am doing is meaningful work? Let’s look at 4 questions you can answer that will help you determine how meaningful your work is.
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Am I passionate about what I am doing?
If you love what you do, your work will be meaningful. It is important that you feel an authentic connection between your career and your bigger life purpose. Being passionate about your work is important for you to achieve the success you desire. Most importantly, if you are passionate about something, you will be able to sustain it through the difficulties and challenges that arise. Following your passion is a springboard to meaningful work.
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Does my current position provide an opportunity for me to live out my purpose in other ways?
Sometimes, your every day job can be a conduit to a greater mission. This can make you feel like what you’re doing to earn a living is providing a platform for you to live out more meaningful work. For example, maybe your full-time job allows you the time off or even allows you to volunteer while being paid on outside projects that are meaningful to you. Another example, if you love art, don’t assume you must open an art studio to feel like your work is meaningful. Figure out how you can incorporate it into where you are right now in your life journey.
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How am I serving others?
Meaningful work is all about how we are giving back and contributing to the success of others. Again, you can start right where you are. Approaching everything you do with an attitude of contribution can transform your life and make everything you do more meaningful. Focusing on how you can help others is the perfect runway to help you take off to a highly successful career no matter what field your in. The secret is, when you serve others and live generously, you are the one who wins the most.
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Do I feel fulfilled?
Despite the desire of having a balanced life, work remains a significant source of how fulfilled your life is. Your work matters! Your work provides how you make a living and how you support your family. Much of your self-esteem derives from your work. With the decline of traditional source of community and social support, the workplace has become the primary venue for fulfilling the need to connect with others. For many, work is now the primary source of personal identity, significance, and meaning in life. When your work is meaningful, this will naturally help you to feel like you’re living a more fulfilled life.
Research consistently shows that people experiencing meaningful work report better health, wellbeing, teamwork, and engagement; they bounce back faster from setbacks and are more likely to view mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures. In other words, you are more likely to thrive and grow when you believe your work is meaningful.
Article Written By:
Kim Martin, Founder of I’ve Decided, INC.
