One week till end of year… discover what’s meaningful to you
I recently read an eye-opening piece in the New York Times titled Millenial Searchers, which finds (contrary to popular opinion) young people born after 1980 are decreasingly interested with chasing material success and increasingly concerned with finding meaning in what they do.
A great article, though it got one point wrong- it isn’t just Millenials, LOTS of people want to find some meaning in their work that goes beyond financial gain. For many of us, especially for those of us in IT, money isn’t the primary source of meaning. We aren’t salespeople, we don’t find a whole lot of purpose in chasing closing rates and commission structures (no judgment intended).
We are more concerned with making a difference in the lives of others. We want to create systems that improve things for our colleagues and customers. And we derive great personal satisfaction from seeing those systems put to work and from being appreciated for the fruits of our labor. We like to know that our work directly benefits the people around us. In short, we derive meaning at work from a sense of progress and contribution, ours and our stakeholders.
Good thing too, as attaching your sense of professional meaning to economics is a crapshoot (at best). The money doesn’t always come, and when it does it rarely produces the sort of deep and lasting sense of purposeful achievement I’m talking about here. That sort of satisfaction only comes when you closely connect your work with your own internal compass (the one pointing to what truly matters to you).
Some of you already know which way your compass points. Others have never engaged with these ideas before. Either way, this holiday week and over the upcoming vacation time I invite you to explore your own personal answer to the question:
“What makes your work worth doing?”
What gives your work meaning? Is it just the financial rewards or are you looking for something more? Regardless of the answer, once you’ve got one (or even the beginnings of one) spend time in the new year aligning to the meaning you find. When you do it will be a great year indeed.
My wishes for a meaningful and prosperous 2014.
