Work is love made visible
In February 2021 I was invited to share my thoughts on purpose with the men of the Mankind Project in Victoria. Thank you Pete Lustig for the opportunity.
“Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” – Khalil Gibran
Do you wake up with lead in your feet, fog in your brain or hit snooze more often than you would like?
Could your relationship with yourself improve? What about with others?
Does your health and wellbeing need to improve or would you like it to?
Are your finances uncomfortable or a downright disaster?
Are you having the impact you know you can in the role most important to you?
If the above resonates uncomfortably with you I would like to invite you to consider the role purpose may be playing in your life.
Purpose can be defined as the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.
When was the last time you reflected on your day, identified everything you did and connected with the reason you took those actions?
What might you discover if you were to be still in your favourite place at home and got really honest about the reason you created this place you call home?
If you were intentional or consciously chose why you exist would your job remain the same?
In observing myself and other humans in my work as a career coach there seems to be at least three stages of purpose:
1. The absence of it or temporary disconnection to it
2. Fulfilling someone else’s purpose
3. Living aligned to your own purpose
Numbing and avoidance strategies are often in play in the absence of or desire to disconnect from your purpose. This might be experienced as over indulging in eating, drinking, watching TV, shopping, exercise or even work.
Feelings of emptiness, resistance or frustration are often experienced when fulfilling someone else’s purpose whilst busily being ‘successful’.
Lightness, inspiration and high energy are inhabited by those that fill their days with activities that are aligned to their own purpose.
So how might you crack this great puzzle called purpose?
You might adopt the position held by Pixar Studios 2020 movie Soul which suggests purpose is a distraction and life is meant to be enjoyed for all its little moments that we often take for granted.
If you want to learn a little about purpose starting with your work I encourage you to consider the IKIGAI model. IKIGAI has Japanese heritage, has been in existence for over 800 years and has provided inspiration as a way to live a happy and long life the Japanese way*. IKIGAI can be loosely translated to mean Reason for Being and many in the west have adapted it to mean Purpose. An extension of that adaption was to move from a way of living to a way of working.
This model invites you to reflect on work by viewing a job as a grouping of tasks. Tasks that you are good at, can be paid to complete, love doing and those that you think are meaningful. If your job contains enough tasks from all four groups you are living your IKIGAI/Reason for being/Purpose. As stated above if you are living your life filled with tasks that align to your purpose you can expect to feel lighter, more energetic and inspired.
IKIGAI Model
Most people spend their working lives in jobs filled with tasks that overly represent or only include what they are good at and can get paid to do. I call this the land of external motivation or just working to pay the bills.
A first step in applying the model is to create lists for each of the four task groups. The second step is to then get playful and creative in taking tasks from each grouping to create what represents a job. If there is enough tasks from each group you may recognise or identify a way of working with purpose. I like to call that enjoying meaningful work.
When your work is filled with purpose your feet feel lighter, your brain is clearer and you are content to get up when you hear your opportunity clock in the morning.
Purpose demands you speak your truth which helps you to accept and value yourself. Accepting and valuing yourself helps you engage others with less expectation and demands making it easier to be present to and support them which results in stronger relationships.
Living your purpose reduces distress created when fulfilling someone else’s purpose at the expense of your own. Valuing yourself more increases respect for your body and leads to taking greater care of your physical vessel.
When your work inspires you challenges become opportunities to learn and grow resulting in greater mastery of your craft. Increasing mastery leads to greater income. An improved relationship with self and others empowers you take more responsibility for your life including your finances.
Individuals inspired by purpose are spontaneous, proactive, more organised and continue to learn and grow. This results in them turning up more, solving more complex challenges and being more graceful which maximises their impact in their most important roles.
*Find out more by reading Ken Mogi’s book The Little Book of IKIGAI.
