BLOG BY STEVE STAVS
Over my 15 years as a multidisciplinary integrated healthcare practitioner, I’ve been both concerned and surprised at how many people grind through the work week for the reprieve of a weekend or reward of the next holiday break. The acronym ‘TGIF’ (thank goodness its Friday) is sold to us as a cyclical survival mechanism which inadvertently implies that weekends are good and work is bad. Holidays are pleasurable, but work is not.
I work with my clients to shift this pendulum- TGIM. Thank goodness it’s Monday! Does it feel foreign to read this and imagine that work can carry great satisfaction, meaning and contentment and you don’t need to crawl through the week days in search of the weekend?
This is why Made To Thrive’s pillar of Purpose is so fundamental to finding a life of thriving. Following years of research conducted by founder and CEO of WorkItDaily.com, J.T O’Donnell, she discovered that 70% of people in the workforce are not satisfied with their work and their careers. The enormity of this points to an existential epidemic if more than half of the world are waking up in the morning and continuing the rat race of meeting financial needs without understanding or knowing how important their purpose is.
Personally, I experienced a significant shift when I embarked on a 90-day coaching experience to clarify my Purpose which I’d like to share with you:
“As a passionate and inspirational revealer my Purpose is to share with others reasons and actions to enable more people to live a life of thriving.”
During this coaching period, 3 books unlocked significant value for me and encourage you to read them (or listen to them on Audible):
- Simon Sinek: Find Your Why
- Viktor Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning
- Steven Pressfield: The Artists’ Journey- The wake of the Hero’s Journey and the Lifelong Pursuit of Meaning
Everybody has one Why. One Purpose. One calling. That which brings us true meaning in our lives.
Discovering, knowing and being able to articulate your why sounds so simple, yet the benefits of understanding this anchor Purpose, are profound. Leaderhip guru and author, Simon Sinek notes that discovering your Why injects passion into work. He has developed a tool called The Golden Circle to help achieve long-term, fulfilling success. Scarlett Erin notes further benefits:
- It helps us to stay focused.
- It helps us to have passionate about activating our goals.
- It gives life clarity.
- It makes us experience deep gratification.
- It enables us to live a values-based life, with integrity.
- It encourages trust and infuses an element of grace into our lives.
- It helps us find flow in life and most of all, it makes life fun!
I believe we are able to truly come alive and have the resilience to deal with life’s challenges and adversity, when we find this meaning in our lives. I often say that it all starts with Purpose- why should you be concerned with your sleep or eating vegetables if tomorrow doesn’t matter?
I’ve seen the importance of this played out with my children- they can eat chocolate all day until they understand why they shouldn’t be indulging as they are. When this why of understanding is revealed and really clicks- their motivation to exercise self control, fundamentally shifts. It is through this process, that significant behaviour shift takes place.
Some questions to ask yourself as you embark on this journey:
- What do I bring to this world that is unique?
- What you do every day is a physical manifestation of your inherent purpose?
- Why do you/ your company exist?
- Why do you get out of bed every morning and why should anyone care?
- What do you have inside that you can exercise from a core of inspiration as opposed to feeling manipulated or forced to do things daily?
We may just need to unlock that process of discovery.
I encourage you to explore your Purpose to find deep satisfaction and contentment and embrace each week being grateful for Mondays!