A Meaningful Career Begins with Meaning
There’s a part of me that’s always wished I could have been a doctor.
Let’s be clear: it’s not because I actually wanted to be a doctor.
(Eek: Needles! Blood! Too much.)
No, I wanted to become a doctor because I thought I’d have clarity.
The kind of clarity that comes when you have a singular goal in mind (to become a doctor) – as well as the clarity of the path you need to walk to get there (go to medical school).
My good friend from college was like this: she always wanted to be a doctor.
She knew what meaningful work looked like to her.
And so she went out and followed the steps and created it for herself.
And now she’s an amazing doctor.
I remember watching her – taking her required courses, dreaming about where she’d do her residency – and just feeling so envious.
So envious, and so lost.
What was meaningful work, to me?
And how would I make that happen for myself? Especially when my own path wasn’t as clear as ‘go to medical school.’
Fast forward to today and I’m still working on my definition of what ‘meaningful’ means to me.
But while the definition is still a work in progress, I do know one important element that’s gotta be in the mix:
Our values.
Ok, ok – don’t roll your eyes. I’m not about to talk about values like one of those corporate board room posters that shows us rowing the boat in the same direction.
No, I want to show you something much more relevant and actionable.
Something that can directly tie your values to your own personal definition of ‘meaningful work.’
That’s why, this week on Instagram Live (Wed at 8pm ET) and in my private Facebook community (Fri at 2pm ET), I’m going to break down:
what values are,
how to define your own, and
how to examine whether you’re honoring your values right now.
I’ll share my own story of what it’s like to make values-aligned choices, and the impact it’s had on my confidence and trust in myself.
And I’ll show you the direct link between understanding your values and creating meaningful work for yourself.
Today, think about one value that you know is important to you at work.
It might be purpose, collaboration, recognition, or something else.
Next, ask yourself: on a scale of 1-10, how “well fed” is this value today? By this I mean: is this value currently being starved or malnourished, or is it alive and healthy?
Finally, what might change for you and your experience at work if this value’s score could be improved by a point or two? What’s important about that?
Hope to see you this week on IG and FB.
Onward,
