5 Ways to Find Purpose in Work

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We spend about 90,000 hours of our lives at work, which is about one third of our life. Did it ever come across your mind why we do what we do for work? Is work only a means to earn a living? Is it because it provides us the best money for our skills and capabilities? Then the question is also do we only work for money? What happens if we have enough money to retire from the work we do? Shall we still do the same work which we don’t need to do to earn a living anymore? These questions are pertinent, but most of the time we might not seek to find answers to these because we might not have much choice but to keep on doing the work we do to earn a living? In this post, we will discuss 5 ways to find a purpose in work.

The follow-up question shall be also do we need to find purpose in work? If so, why? Why is purpose or finding a meaning to the work we do important? Is making money more important than finding fulfillment from the work we do? Let’s find out more about ways to find a purpose in work.

First, we may want to understand why do we work? Then we might try to understand why we need to find purpose in the work we do. If the work we do is merely to earn a living, or it is only trading hours for cash? If so, we may miss a lot in our lives.

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

– Albert Einstein

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Why Do We Work?

We work primarily to earn a living. Don’t we? But is that the only reason? Don’t we work because we love our work? Do we always? These are questions that could rake in a lot of polarized opinions.

Make a Living

No doubt we work to make a living and support our family. If work is all about earning money to live a living, then how much money do we really need to make a good living?

Give Back to Community

Do we also work to give back to our communities and societies? To help the underprivileged in whatever way we can and show our gratitude for what we have got? By working, we also support our countries and governments through taxes, which are in return used for the welfare of its citizens. Because a working population helps the governments with benefits for ageing population. So most countries in recent years have been increasing their retirement ages.

We Love Our Job

But is work all about earning a living, helping our communities and supporting our governments? Don’t we love our job? Do we not feel excited about going to work every morning?

We Love Our Work-place

Is getting excited to go to work not about also loving our work-place? The people we work with and its culture? Many times folks continue working even if they really don’t need to financially just because they love the workplace they work in. Are you among them who have a strong support network at work? Have buddies and friends at work who care for you and are always willing to help you, no matter what? If you are one of them, certainly have a made a great place for you to work.

Make a Difference

Then don’t we work to make a difference? More so, can we really make a difference by what we do? Does it also matter what kind of work we do? Whether we do the job of a janitor or are a CEO of a company? Because many times it’s on us how we relate to our jobs and work, on how we think we are making a difference to the workplace and to our communities or societies.

Say if I am doing the work of a janitor and I can bring a smile to the faces of folks at my workplace every single day, not only by the quality of work I do but also from my behaviors, then am I making a difference?

Since life is short, should we not try to make every single day count? Then could we step back and introspect at the end of each day what we accomplished today? More so, did I make any difference today?

Influence, Inspire and Develop People

This might seem like a stretch, but don’t we all have abilities to either influence, inspire, or develop people we work with? Because there is always something we can learn from someone we work with. And more so, there is always something someone can learn from us.

Then, many times, saying a simple thank you or a gesture of gratitude and kindness can lighten up somebody’s day. It can make someone’s day. So let’s not underestimate our ability to influence or inspire others in our small and simple ways.

Finally, if we are in a leadership role, we have an additional responsibility to develop others a work. Nothing can be more satisfying than to help some grow professionally. It can be our gift to someone.

Build and Foster Relationships

Then is the workplace also not about creating a support system for us where we build and foster relationships? Work is where we spend one third of our lives, so it is not a place where we make friends? Friends and colleagues, who can be our support system for the rest of our lives? That is something to think about. Do you agree?

Why We Need Purpose in Work?

Purpose is the reason we do things we do. That also means it is the rudder of our life’s ship which helps us navigate even through a tempest. So without a purpose for the work, work can become just trading hours for cash. Hence, let’s try to understand why we need purpose in the work we do before we dive into the 5 ways to find purpose in life.

Motivate Ourselves and Others

To begin the foremost need to find purpose in our work, it to motivate ourselves and then subsequently motivates others. If we cannot motivate ourselves to work, then work is going to be like “thank god it’s Friday” or “It’s Monday!”.

Excel in What We Do Best

Then, the other need for purpose in our work is that we want to strive for excellence in what we do best. Would you agree? So what would make us eager to get off the bed and start our work? Is it not the craving for doing a job we love doing better than how we did it yesterday?

Be a Successful Professional

To begin, do we love our profession? Don’t we want to do it well? Don’t we then yearn to become successful in our professions? Because most of us have spent a lot of time in our formal educations, many times have further enhanced it, then put in years of our productive life with countless sacrifices on work-life-balance front. Then why would we not yearn to be successful in our professions, in what we love to do most?

Contribute to the Greater Good for Society/ Country

Then it is always not about ourselves. Because there is always a bigger purpose tied up with the society and the country we live in which benefits from our work. Then can we always articulate it? About how our work benefits the economy and the welfare of many others tied up with it?

Make the World a Better Place

Our work not only can benefit our local economies but also can help make the world a better place for all living beings. Many times it is not too easy to decipher the inter linkages on how our work may affect billions of people across the globe or the trillions of living being on our planet. So if you think your work doesn’t have any significant impact in making this world a better place, think twice.

Leave Behind a Legacy

Finally, we all want to leave behind a legacy after we are no more in our own small ways. Don’t we? Remember, every small way we think can affect others, it is only time will tell how significant the legacy was, even if we think it was insignificant. Does it sound fascinating?

5 Ways to Find Purpose in Work

This brings us to our last and essentially the main section of our post. How to find a purpose in work? We have covered most of the background in the prior sections, so let’s dive into it.

To find purpose in work, we need to take a step back and introspect. Is there any purpose, even if we are trading hours for money? There are always multiple purposes, even though we may not find any. Does it sound familiar? Most of the time, we don’t comprehend how our work is as trivial as it may sound like tees up to the bigger picture. Because we all have a role to play and we play that role many times in our ignorance. So what are the 5 ways to find a purpose in work?

Are You Making a Difference Professionally?

We talked about making a difference for the need to find purpose in our work, but are you making a difference? Do you think you are contributing to the growth of your profession that would inspire others to take up your profession? More so, the work that you do brings value to your internal and external customers and they earnestly await you to deliver the products and services?

Are You Influencing, Inspiring and Developing People?

Think about it. Because we all can influence, inspire, and develop others. So then, are we making the best of what we have at the workplace to do it and make a difference in someone else’s life?

Is Your Work Contributing to Your Community?

Something again to think, how is your work helping your community? Or it could be your country or governments? Which affects all its residents?

Is Your Work Contributing for Greater Good?

How your work can or is contributing for the greater good? That can have much far-reaching impact than you may or may not even comprehend? Is it not worth contemplating about?

Are You Leaving Behind a Legacy?

Finally, knowingly or unknowingly, you may leave behind a legacy that the world may cherish for generations to come. Did you think about it?

Conclusion

So what are the 5 ways to find a purpose in work? In a nutshell, there is most likely a purpose we are serving in the work we do. Only it may need some introspection to find it, because if we can find it, it can be the rudder of our ship in the tempestuous ocean of life. Think about it share what you think in the comments.

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