Why Your Purpose Is Important To Your Career

 

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Have you ever felt that dread that creeps up on you on Sunday evenings because the weekend is over and you have to go to work the next day?  Do you get to work and start counting down the hours to 5 pm when it is time to leave the office?  Do you feel that the work you do is no longer challenging and exciting and is now just a drag?   Do you ever feel that the only reason you go to work is because you have bills to pay?  At one point in my life the answer to all these questions was yes and this led me to start searching for the reason why I was so miserable at work.  This led me on a journey of trying to discover my purpose.

You spend most of your waking hours at work so it is important to find work that is meaningful and purposeful to you.  One of the reasons why you would struggle with your job is that it is not aligned with your purpose.  It may be unfulfilling and unsatisfactory to you yet you desire to do work that provides more than just a paycheck.  That is, a job that provides meaning to you and makes you feel that you are impacting others in a positive way.  This desire to do work that you love and is meaningful is seeking out your purpose.  We are all created to have a purpose.  Those who have successfully found their purpose report being happier and more fulfilled in their jobs.  Most people that we consider to be successful have realized their success by pursuing their purpose.

Another way that you can discover your purpose is by asking the question ‘why do you do what you do for work?’  The people who have discovered their purpose are able to answer this question.  Their work has an intrinsic value to them.  They have a vision and they pursue that vision through their work.  The common example that is used to illustrate this is, that of the two brick layers who were working at a construction site.  One brick layer was asked what he was doing and he said that he was laying bricks while other brick layer said that he was building a cathedral.  The brick layer who said he was laying bricks, viewed his work as just a job that paid his bills while the other one had the vision, his brick laying would culminate into something bigger, a cathedral where people would go to worship. 

To find purpose in your career, it is best to look at what type of work creates meaning to you and will enable you to serve others.  To do this visualize your ideal career.  What work would you do if you had the choice of doing it without money being a factor?  What is it that you are good at doing, what do you do effortlessly?  What do you enjoy doing, what activities keep you so engrossed that you forget to keep track of time?  Answering these three questions, will start you on your journey to determining your purpose.  A concern that most people have is that what they enjoy doing will not earn them a sustainable income.  This may be true in the beginning when you start out, but if you are persistent in pursuing your purpose, you will eventually find creative ways to earn an income from it.  For example an artistic person may have different income streams from painting, pottery, doing sculptures etc.  A writer may earn an income from writing for newspapers, magazines, blogs etc. 

The benefits of pursuing your purpose are numerous.  People who have discovered their purpose say that their occupations do not feel like a job, they feel more like hobbies.  They have stressful times at work and there are aspects of their work that they do not like but overall they are happy with what they do.  Another advantage is that your purpose does not have an expiry date.  You can work at your purpose for the rest of your life, you do not need to retire from your purpose.  Also, if you are persistent at doing what you love and are good at, you will eventually make money from it.  People will pay for what they believe is valuable and work that has been done excellently will provide value to its customers.  Another benefit of operating in your purpose is that your quality of life improves because you are happier and inevitably healthier because you are less stressed at work.

Finding your purpose and pursuing it is the best thing that a person can do for him or herself.  It will make you excel in your field of work and it will make a positive impact on the society.  You will thrive at what you which will enable you to leave a legacy for future generations.