Why what you do matters: Finding meaning in what you do.

Hey. Drew here. 

This one kinda picks up where we ended last time.

However, it’s a bit different.

It’s a bit focused on working towards actually finding meaning in whatever you do.

By the way, I’ve got three questions that I’d like you to ask yourself about something you do. 

Ask these in context to something you do that you care about:

( ie your career, a side hustle, a hobby, etc)

Why am I doing this?

Do I want to do this?

What do I want to do?

I’ll get back to them towards the end.

Okay. Let’s continue. As usual, let's get straight to it.

"Hold on. What do you mean by ‘finding meaning’ Drew?"

Literally what I said there. Finding meaning.

Okay. So, this is how things usually work.

(Career, hobby, social activity, doesn’t matter. Applies to nearly everything you can think of doing.)

For any type of activity or action, you discover there is:

Either some type of need for you to do that or

You want to do it because you like it, it helps a cause, or there's some reason that motivates you to engage in it.

Let's take things in the context of a job.

Now, after you start, and you get into it, your initial motivation probably wanes.

Sure, you’re probably doing a great job, and getting paid well for it.

But, do you really WANT to do it? 

Do you really WANT to spend eight hours every day, five days a week, for the next 40 years or more, doing this?

(Kind of puts things in perspective when you think about them like that.)

Let’s say you do. But now, after the initial excitement, you need some type of reason to keep you going.

From there, you probably try doing everything from trying to help a co-worker...

to reducing the load of an overly-burdened team member, just because.

Now, at the time, you might not realize HOW this is helping you…

It just makes things more bearable, maybe even enjoyable, and gives you some type of reason to keep going.

However, the reality is quite different.

When you want to find meaning in something, you’re trying to find some type of satisfaction, purpose, and engagement.

You want to find a connection to what you do. A way to progress personally, rather than just from a professional perspective.

"Okay. I kind of get what you’re saying. But, why’s this important? Can’t I just make do without doing something special?"

Well, you need some way to make progress.

Professionally. Personally. Socially.

You need satisfaction along with a visible improvement on some level to be able to see how you’re making progress.

You need to be able to realize that what you’re doing has an impact on the people around you, instead of just you.

You need something…different.

Something interesting.

Something…just different.

Otherwise, things just become dull, you know?

You’ll start burning out and getting frustrated over even the smallest of things.

You’ll start to lose your passion and motivation for doing things.

Soon, you're likely to see your health decline.

With nothing DIFFERENT, nothing that special, and nothing that gives you a sense of progress…

You just kinda stop. 

I mean, it can be a destructive and demotivating thing to get stuck in a cycle of asking yourself “Why am I even doing this?” and not having some type of answer for it.

Everything just starts to unravel.

You lose motivation in anything you do.

You have no driving force for doing the things you’d like to do.

You ask yourself questions you can’t figure out the answers to.

It just... Things become boring.

"You know what? That does kinda make sense. What do I do then?"

Well, the hardest bit is that understanding you need purpose and meaning. Once you realize that, there’s no shortage of things you can do to keep that purpose alive and kicking.

Like seriously, there’s so much you can do.

You could start out by learning.

So, depending on what your job is and where you work, it can be as simple as understanding more about what the company does as a whole.

How your clients and customers benefit or get value from what you have to offer.

Now, that could be a service or a product.

But, how does it benefit them? What keeps them coming back?

Simply starting here can give you direct insight into how you’re potentially changing someone’s life.

You might think of yourself as part of a bigger system, Which I guess we all are.

However, thinking about things like this? Gives a different perspective.

You’re able to kind of see firsthand the impact of your actions. How YOU are delivering some sort of value to someone.

So yeah. That’s one. Simply learning a bit more.

Doing things that brighten up your overall workspace? Another thing you could do.

As I mentioned before, you might help an overly burdened team member, just because.

Maybe you’ve got the time. Or the resources. Whatever.

Point is, this type of stuff helps you progress on a personal level.

Being able to help someone and see the impact you have firsthand? It has its upsides.

Maybe you can’t do that and you opt to have positive conversations instead. With your manager. With your co-workers.

Even that’s enough to help you develop a constructive mindset.

And then you’ve got all these other things.

From thinking about how what you do affects the people and customers you serve…

To simply reflecting on the basics, like why you do what you do and why that matters…

To trying to find something purposeful to do, to help give meaning to things on a whole…

There’s so much you can do.

And sure, it might sound cliche. But it’s important. Not just for your health. But for those around you.

You having an uplifting mood, a smile, and something different to talk about…

Who knows how many people you could influence?

Who knows how many people you could motivate to find purpose in what they do?

And one more thing…

Along with all of those things, if you simply get stuck and can’t find a way to fix things, to address some level of negativity, and just feel like there’s nothing you can do…

Try this.

In stressful and high-pressure environments, sometimes what happens is that stress builds up throughout the day, week, month, etc. Just small things that build up.

Now, if you don’t have time (and yes, this happens quite often) to de-stress, however you do it…

Going to the gym, meeting up with friends, going for a walk, or simply taking out your bike and getting a good leg workout…

You can always try something different. Just like those micro-stresses, try focusing on micro-pleasures.

Could be anything from saying thank you, giving some advice, lending a helping hand or simply giving some time to a personal project you’ve always been meaning to get around to.

Maybe even read some good news.

So yeah. 

And, before we wrap things up here…

I’d just like to go back to the questions I gave you at the beginning.

Why am I doing this?

Do I want to do this?

What do I want to do?

There was a reason I mentioned these. Although they seem really ‘normal’ and ‘generic; on the surface, asking these three things in the context of anything you do can serve to give you a deeper meaning about what you're doing. Literally.

After figuring out if it is something you WANT to do…

Figuring out the what and the why just helps to find purpose and meaning in things

And, we’re done here.

Remember, this is important, regardless of what someone says.

Life isn’t all about work, grind, sleep, repeat. We’re not machines. We’re humans.

We need a break sometimes. We need to find our purpose. We need to be able to unwind.

We need to be able to think about things on a deeper and more personal level.

I put this out because I felt this was an important thing to address.

And, if you need help, feel free to reach out anytime.

Our life might not seemingly have a grand purpose but, again, not everything has to be done on a huge scale to make a difference.

If you can do anything well, even if it’s just a smile on a stranger’s face, you’ve made a difference.

Now, it’s all up to you to realize what you’re capable of.

Take care and be well. You deserve it.

Drew.