Sustainable Ambition Forum - 11.09.21
Should Work Be Your Holy Grail?
The Sustainable Ambition View:
While work can play a role in contributing to our happiness, the dogged pursuit of the perfect work fit or for meaning in one’s work shouldn’t overshadow seeking and finding fulfillment in the rest of our life, too.
Why it matters:
Societal norms tell us to set a high bar and ask and expect a lot from our work, which can set us up for disappointment.
We can meet our needs more realistically if we recognize that work meaning can look different for each of us and can be shaped, our careers are journeys of discovery, and we can be empowered to take responsibility for creating more meaning in our lives holistically.
Behind the thinking:
The pandemic has made many of us rethink our work ambitions and how we want to create meaning and fulfillment in life.
To be sure, work can contribute to and impact our happiness, and we should seek to optimize it for ourselves. In doing so, it’s important to note that we are not all wired to be fulfilled in the same way.
And, we need to be a bit more gentle on ourselves in setting our expectations around work. For example, we are often told to search for our passion and that often can feel like an impossible pursuit. Beyond passion, today workers also hold a high bar for employers to deliver on purpose, which is often hard to find. Plus, our satisfaction and ambitions around our work can change over the course of our lives from decade to decade and lifestage to lifestage.
These expectations and shifts can often lead to our career exploration and journeys becoming at times painful, as I’ve experienced and I so often hear from friends, coaching clients, and podcast guests.
To take some of the pressure off, it might be better to take a satisficer vs. a maximizer view (accepting good enough), as Clare Davenport talks about in podcast episode #23.
Or, as we’ve talked about on the podcast and as the book “Range” notes, to accept that work journeys are about evolving towards better “match quality” as we learn about ourselves over time.
And to remember that our lives are about more than work. For some of us, it’s really important to find purpose in our work. But others may be wired differently. In both of the podcasts we feature below, our guests emphasize to look outside your work to find meaning. Bethanie Baynes said: “Stop thinking about your job as the only place for fulfillment,” and Will Schafer, who did seek work that better aligned with his values, still said that one shouldn’t feel they must find purpose in work: “There are so many other ways to get a sense of meaning and purpose and contribution in your life.”
While we can find meaning in our work, we shouldn’t all ask it to meet all our needs, just as we wouldn’t expect a partner or friend to meet all our needs.
What’s next:
Take the pressure off. Stop seeking work perfection. Land or ground yourself and be in the experience and journey towards finding your career match, learning and honing over time.
Better understand yourself and what you are seeking at this stage in your career, optimizing for life+work meaning and fulfillment now.
Be empowered and take ownership for creating meaning and purpose in both your life and work, and release the expectation it will magically come from outside yourself.
I believe work is important to our happiness, yet having too high of expectations around our work can lead to frustration. Enjoy the adventure of learning and discovery over time. And, look to find fulfillment holistically across your life.
Here’s to embracing the journey,
Kathy Oneto
Founder of Sustainable Ambition
The Round-Up
For you, what is the role of work? As this article poses, are we meant to love our jobs? I think it depends on what’s important to you. What’s true is defining your love and success on your own terms vs. an employer’s or based on societal norms.
What is your work happy? There are benefits to work, and it’s not about finding work-life balance. What to consider to answer the above question and this one posed? As this article suggests, the answer may lie in determining what type of happiness you are seeking from your work. Is it: hedonic (increase positive feelings and reduce negative feelings), eudaimonic (optimal functioning and realizing our potential), or experiential (pursue a rich and diverse experiential life)? Read more!
How do you want to reframe work to make it more meaningful and sustainable? This article advocates that purpose is not found solely at work. I suggest rebalancing our thinking towards life+work vs. the common term work-life. As we come out of the pandemic, I also appreciate how this article tees up the idea of, “I’m never going back to....,” or “I am resolved to....” How would you complete those sentences?
Are you seeking the right things from work? Albert Brooks says, “What matters is not so much the ‘what’ of a job, but more the ‘who’ and the ‘why’: Job satisfaction comes from people, values, and a sense of accomplishment.”
Are you just done? A good conversation with Jessi Hempel, senior editor at large at LinkedIn and host of the podcast Hello Monday, about the way work is shifting both with employers and for ourselves.
Are you being called to reconsider your ambitions? If so, look to define your ambitions on your own terms. This article shares how some are finding their way towards that self-definition rather than simply following societal norms. To be sure, as the article notes, one needs to take a long view when making such choices, but it’s wise to listen to your own voice. What ambition is calling you?
What can’t you not do? I loved reading, “The Dreamer,” a charming book by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Author) and Peter Sís (Illustrator), that was inspired by Pablo Neruda’s childhood. For some, our work is our calling.
What if your work is your self expression? This is worthy entertainment to appreciate a woman’s art and work. Judy Chicago has been an artist for over 40 years and is just now getting a retrospective of her art at the deYoung Museum in San Francisco. Last month, the museum held a live performance of one of her pyrotechnic performances. It was remarkable. Fast forward to 54 minutes and enjoy the show!
The Sustainable Ambition Podcast - Episodes 30 & 36
Join me for conversations with experts, authors, and friends on
what it means to live with Sustainable Ambition.
Episode #30: On Work+Life as a Breadwinning Woman with Bethanie Baynes Bethanie Baynes is a recognized leader on the topic of breadwinning women and host of the podcast, “Working Wife, Happy Life.” In this conversation we talk about what it means to be a breadwinner, how societal constructs limit women in not seeing themselves in this role, and how to craft a fulfilling work and home life on our own terms.
Listen on Overcast here or on our website here.
Episode #36: On Embracing the Messiness & Success of Career Journeys with Will Schafer Will Schafer, VP of International Marketing at Beyond Meat, joins me for a conversation on accepting the messiness of career journeys, embracing a growth mindset, taking initiative to set a new path, and finding meaning in work and life. Will is proof that success can be found outside traditional corporate structures and following linear career paths.
Listen on Apple here or on our website here.
You can also find the podcast, subscribe, and listen on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Overcast.
A Question: Find Meaning in Your Life+Work
Don’t look to work alone to create meaning and purpose in your life. What would make your life meaningful? What would give your life purpose? What actions or ways of being do you want to implement to create that meaning and live that purpose?
And don’t expect your employer to create meaning in your work. Take responsibility to find that meaning for yourself, where you are. You just may have to reframe your thinking to uncover your purpose. Why do you do what you do? What’s important about your work? What impact or contribution do you want to make? What value do you want to add?
Find Your Guide:
Find the perfect guide to match your journey.
“What you seek is seeking you.”
— Rumi
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SUSTAINABLE AMBITION™ IS ABOUT CRAFTING A FULFILLING CAREER TO SUPPORT YOUR LIFE FROM DECADE TO DECADE.
It is centered around articulating your personal definition of success and achieving that without burnout while honoring your personal aspirations and ambitions as they ebb and flow over time. The end game—more fulfillment and ease in your professional and personal life, while still being ambitious.
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