The elusive term of meaningful work and how to find it | Part 1/2
The first thing we all look for in a job is the MONEY. Although finances are important, jobs that give you meaning are. If you’re wondering how it even feels to have a meaningful job.
There are 3 main components.
- Meaningful jobs trigger the deepest and most genuine and natural talented components of our personality. Everyone is unique and therefore people will find more than one type of job meaningful. Usually determined by our deeper self. Some people might gain meaning from empowering young people on how to become better public speakers through teaching. Others feel their deeper self is satisfied by creating a code that becomes an integral part of an individual’s life or a business’s functioning. For some, they may feel most alive when making investments with their money or being a carer for an elderly person.
- The second component of a meaningful job is one that helps others and solves problems. A job where you are directly or facilitating work that serves humanity. It provides a sense of service to others.
- Thirdly a job becomes meaningful when the individual doing it has a gut feeling, a visceral sensation towards the impact their work makes on the groups or individuals they serve. Not only is the job meaningful by definition (bringing meaning and a positive impact to another individual’s life). It feels meaningful too, as the job will inevitability become integral to your life.
This begs a few questions; Why is it so difficult to find meaningful work? Why does it feel like jobs can either only bring me money rather than fulfilling the side of us as humans that yearns for meaning and purpose?
Questions I often used to ask myself, after years of trying different career paths from sales marketing, being a facilitator for education within the criminal justice system to even trying to learn how to become a videographer. The three big reasons stood out for me, as to why the questions above would arise.
Reason #1 — It is difficult for us to find our true interests in the time we have. As obligations outweigh our pursuit to find ourselves. Simple things like paying bills. Our interests do not pop up in our brains overnight.
Reason #2 — Finding meaningful work requires self-analysis, patiently. Trying out a range of options to see what feels like the best fit for us. However even having the self-awareness to see things for what they are, can also be an uphill battle.
Not to any fault of our own. But unfortunately, due to our socialization in this modern world. Schools, universities, and society in general. Do not place priority during these stages of education on aiding people to understand their working identities. Their Ikigai if you will.
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means your ‘reason for being.’ ‘Iki’ in Japanese means ‘life,’ and ‘gai’ describes value or worth. Everyone Ikigai is unique to themselves, it is the essence of your life. Your purpose. The reason why you get out of bed. The first step to living rather than existing.
Its important to not let the context of this blog confuse what Ikigai means. The acient philosophy from Japan helps you find your meaning for life as a whole. Whereas the Westernised version is framed to just help you find your dream job. Therefore the Westernised version of this is relevant for this topic.
It consists of 4 components.
- What you love
- What you’re good at
- What you can be paid for
- What the world needs
