Sustainable Ambition Forum - 11.25.24
Sometimes when we seek more sustainability in our life and work, we think work is the culprit, the evil doer keeping us from feeling fulfilled and more at ease. We might think the answer lies in extremes—either check out completely or fully embrace leisure. But what if there’s a different path? What if meaningful work itself is actually key to creating a sustainable life?
The False Choice Between Work and Wellness
I believe meaningful and motivating work matters in our lives. And I believe it shouldn’t overtake our lives either.
Some may adopt the belief that work is inherently “bad.” To be sure, some work environments and some work may be bad—exploitative, poorly designed, demotivating, toxic, and so forth. But research shows that not having meaningful work can negatively impact our self-confidence, self-worth, and mental health. Work, as a concept, isn’t necessarily the offender. In fact, work is crucial for sustainability. After all, how sustainable can our lives be if our work doesn’t work for us?
The Role of Work in Human Flourishing
Experts consistently highlight work’s role in our wellbeing. Jonathan Haidt, in The Happiness Hypothesis, observes that “...happiness and meaning come from getting the right relationship between yourself and others, yourself and your work, and yourself and something larger than yourself.” Similarly, Harvard professor Arthur Brooks identifies work as one of his four pillars of happiness, noting that “Work can bring happiness by marrying our passions to our skills, empowering us to create value in our lives and in the lives of others.”
The alternative—checking out and embracing pure leisure—might provide temporary relief from our productivity-obsessed culture, but having no sense of purpose at all can lead to what sociologist Corey Keyes calls “languishing.” In his book Languishing: How To Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down, Keyes explains that languishing is “the absence of some very fundamental or important things that make life worth living or meaningful, or make you feel like you matter in the world.”
Finding Your Path to Meaningful Work
When I speak of work, I think of it broadly. Yes, it can be your profession, but work can also encompass what you do for your family, your community, or a volunteer organization. The key is finding the right work that motivates and is meaningful to us.
I recently explored this topic with three insightful guests on my podcast.
1. The Power of Personal Agency
Merideth Mehlberg, an ICF-certified Master Coach with 20 years of experience coaching senior executives on their careers, emphasizes that navigating our careers starts with us. “More than ever, steadiness has to come from within because there’s disruption all around us,” she notes in our conversation. In her book Your Finest Work: Career Fulfillment in a Complicated World, she reminds us that: “The only wrong move is to be unwilling to act on your own behalf and let others define your career trajectory.” Hear more from the conversation here.
2. Shaping Your Work Environment
Pete Steinberg, President of Innovative Thought, brings another valuable perspective. In our discussion about his book Leadership Shock: Using Authenticity to Navigate the Hidden Dangers of Career Success, Pete emphasized that we have more agency to shape our careers and leadership than we often think. We discussed the concept of citizenship, which invites all of us—regardless of our role—to actively shape the work environment around us and to proactively seek to lead better every day. Hear more from the conversation here (coming out W 11/27).
3. Finding Inspiration in Purpose-Driven Work
Aybala Şimşek Galpin is the CEO at Şekerbank, positioned as the Sustainable Bank of Turkey. I appreciated discussing her career and journey to becoming CEO. Her path shows that alignment of meaning and motivation in our work can sustain us even when we put in the effort. The belief in and commitment to the purpose makes it worth it. (This conversation comes out on Wednesday, December 4).
Taking Action: Three Questions for Greater Work Satisfaction
As inspiration: Amy Bonsall, former podcast guest and founder of Collective, recently shared on her Instagram about asking a chipper TSA worker how he was staying upbeat on a busy travel day in Chicago. His reply, “I’m lucky and grateful to have a job that pays the bills and offers health insurance.” I might add my own appreciation and gratitude for his contribution to keeping us all safe on our travels. I loved this perspective and reminder to appreciate the meaningful work we are able to have in our lives.
If you’re not feeling engaged or satisfied in your work, consider these questions to help take the reins and see if you can make a small shift to increase your work’s meaning and your motivation:
In what way are you grateful for the work you do? How does your support the vision you hold for your life and career?
How does your work allow you to give and contribute to those around you?
How can you leverage your strengths, honor your values, and do more of what you love through your work?
Engaging in worthy work doesn’t mean work needs to be the end all, be all. A sustainable life embraces both meaningful work and a full life. Yes, we should make time for doing nothing, slowing down, and active restoration. And yet, work remains an important thread in the rich tapestry of a fulfilling life.
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But for now… for those in the U.S., this week is one of those moments worthy of a break from meaningful work, while being grateful for it. Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving and comforting experiences with family and friends this holiday. Enjoy the time to care for yourself and be there for each other.
Warmly,
Kathy
Founder of Sustainable Ambition
The Monthly Round-Up: You+Life+Work
Ideas on becoming consciously ambitious and thriving in life and work
✨ What do you want from your work? One way to answer this question is to ask what you hire your work to do for you. Asking this question borrows from Clay Christensen's jobs to be done theory, that suggests people “hire” products and services to address specific needs in their lives. I used this method in innovation and Dart Lindsley, Cofounder and CEO of 11fold and host of the Work for Humans podcast, has been championing applying this theory to work. He suggests that companies should apply this lens to how they shape jobs, to know that employees are constantly evaluating whether or not they want to continue to hire their current employer and role.
We can turn this question toward ourselves, too—“What am I hiring my work to do?”—in order to gain clarity on what we value in our work. With that understanding, we can better tap into our motivations and can be in a stronger position to make requests to help shape our jobs into work we find worthy.
✨ Finding your fit in a challenging job market. This is another featured piece from Dart Lindsey, a recent conversation with Phyl Terry author of Never Search Alone. They discuss the method and tools Terry’s developed around applying product management to career development. Since people are navigating a difficult job market, I thought some might find this discussion helpful.
✨ A perfect illustration of worthy work that fuels you. I loved this story about Sophie Strobele by Alice Katter on Out of Office Network. It’s a great example of the idea that we don’t have to check out completely to find sustainability and that meaningful work can fuel us. Living and working can look different than traditional norms, and I love how Sophie’s story illustrates this. She shares about living a seasonal life, her appreciation of uncertainty, choosing to live in a place where her daughter is inspired by creativity not driven by success, how she defines an artist, and encouraging us to “make your life a living.” I found it very inspiring! How about you?
✨ Tips to add play to your day. Play is natural both in humans and animals, and it has many benefits from relieving stress to inspiring creativity and refreshing the mind. Get tips on how to add play into your day from From the Squiggly Career podcast. You can also listen to the podcast episode here.
✨ Ambient sounds. I was just sharing with a group how I used to not be able to listen to music when working, but in writing my book I learned that ambient music can at times calm my anxiety and help me focus. Sharing this list of ambient tunes in case you, too, would like to test it out.
The Sustainable Ambition Podcast
🎙️ E144: Meredith Mehlberg and Your Finest Work: Career Clarity in a Complex World
Master coach Meredith Mehlberg introduces common traps that keep us feeling stuck and dissatisfied at work, shares what gets us to the point where we can take action for change, plus offers reassurance that finding more fulfillment in our work isn’t as arduous as it may seem at the outset.
Listen on your favorite player here or on our website here
🎙️ E145: Pete Steinberg on Leadership Beyond Titles and Getting Better Everyday (Coming soon! W 11/27)
Learning to embrace leadership and think intentionally about the kind of leader we want to be is important, regardless of where we are in our careers. It’s relevant whether we’re leading a whole team or just ourselves. In this episode, Pete Steinberg shares what it means to be a leader and to step into that role.
Listen on your favorite player here or on our website here
You can also find the podcast, subscribe, and listen on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, and more. Get it here.
🎁 Gift Idea from Centered in the City
Want a gift for yourself or someone else this holiday? This might just be the thing!
My good friend, Wade Brill, of Centered in the City is offering to create a specialized meditation for whatever you (or a loved one) are experiencing in life right now.
You can schedule a Centered Session where Wade will design a customized meditation for you/your loved one and your life.
Note: I get no affiliate income from this. Just sharing Wade's beautiful, natural talent for this work.
“[Work] is about a search, too, for daily meaning as well as daily bread, for recognition as well as cash, for astonishment rather than torpor; in short, for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying.”
— Studs Terkel, Working