[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″ width=”100%” max_width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”0px||0px|||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/baileybalfour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/B19B.jpg” _builder_version=”4.4.1″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.1″ width=”90%”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_post_title comments=”off” featured_image=”off” _builder_version=”4.4.1″ title_line_height=”1.2em” width=”100%” max_width=”100%” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false”][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.4.1″ width=”90%”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.4.1″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.1″ text_font_size=”16px” text_line_height=”1.75em”]<\/p>\n
Do you have a strong connection between your purpose and your daily work?<\/p>\n
Recently I became curious about my own connection to purpose in my work and the impact this had on my energy levels, my focus and my general mood.<\/p>\n
It should be easy for me. I run my own company, which has a focus on helping people to be happy at work. We do this through training people to be executive coaches and providing coaching and training. On the face of it, all of this work is purpose led. I do work which is personally rewarding and in the process have the privilege of seeing others learn.<\/p>\n
And yet, often I find myself feeling overwhelmed with work, wondering how I am going to get everything done. I lose my spark as my focus shifts to trying to clear what\u2019s on my to do list. In these moments, with emails flowing in and back-to-back meetings, purpose can feel illusive. It\u2019s not just me. Many of my coaching clients are feeling under pressure and overwhelmed with work, losing their enjoyment of something they used to love.<\/p>\n
Over the past few months I have been increasingly curious about this. How can we help people to be happy and purposeful at work?<\/p>\n
There is a growing\u00a0<\/span>body<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>of research and writing emerging about the role that purpose plays in healthy careers and organisations. We hear that \u2018Millennials\u2019 want a purpose led career and that organisations are moving towards being more purpose led.<\/p>\n New models of organisations put purpose at the centre and Simon Sinek\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>work<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>on \u201cWhy\u201d puts purpose at the centre of organisations. Daniel Pink\u2019s motivational model described in his book Drive and outlined in his brilliant RSA\u00a0<\/span>talk<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>also talks about the role purpose plays in motivation for individuals at work.<\/p>\n In her\u00a0<\/span>work<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>building purpose led teams in health and care, my friend and colleague Helen Sanderson is also exploring this. Providing care is a personal act, and without a sense of purpose could be a meaningless experience for both the career and the cared for.<\/p>\n I believe there is a lot to this and that \u2018Millennials\u2019 and these researchers and writers may have it right. By seeing the connection to purpose and values and living my working life through this I could bring more energy and passion which can, in turn, benefit others, my clients and my team. Even in our everyday and the mundane activities, finding a way to connect to our purpose or values may help to increase focus and lift energy. Maybe that connection is simply to do a good job in this next task, and the next, and by thinking this we are connecting to a value of doing a good job.<\/p>\n Watching Helen\u2019s Ted Talk, reminded me about this connection and gave me some ideas about what I could do. I found myself following articles and blogs, which made this connection as well as the link between mindfulness and purpose. Eckhart Tolle suggests in his\u00a0<\/span>book<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>“A New Earth” that there are three choices we have about how we see our work: to accept, to enjoy, to enthuse. This gives us a choice of how we see each task, and even in mundane tasks we could accept the task and wherever possible connect it to a value that is important to us or to a part of our purpose. Ask yourself, \u201cWhat would change if I was mindful in the presence of each activity and connected that activity to my purpose?\u201d<\/p>\n And so I set out to do this. The first thing I noticed is that the activity stopped feeling hard, it felt like something I felt okay about doing it and in some cases looking forward to it. Just by asking myself, how does this connect to my purpose and the purpose of others, I found new acceptance, energy and focus. This in turn led to a better outcome for the individuals impacted by the work I was doing.<\/p>\n This is an interesting key to finding a new way of \u2018being\u2019 with our workshop lives and accepting, enjoying and enthusing our work activities. It requires discipline to apply, but at least applying this discipline is better than putting up with a less than ideal approach to work.<\/p>\n What could you do to connect your work to your purpose, or increase your level of acceptance, enjoyment and enthusiasm with your daily working lives?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#f1f1f1″ custom_margin=”40px||||false|false” global_module=”5225″][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/baileybalfour.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Jean-Balfour-Web-profile.jpg” alt=”Jean Balfour ICF Accredited Professional Coach and Managing Director of Bailey Balfour” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ width=”150px” max_width=”150px” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”10px||||false|false” border_radii=”on|100px|100px|100px|100px” locked=”off”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_team_member name=”Jean Balfour” position=”Founder & Programmes Director” icon_color=”#cc6a7c” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||||true|false” border_radii_image=”on|50%|50%|50%|50%” locked=”off”]<\/p>\n Singapore<\/p>\n <\/i><\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_team_member][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”20px|20px|20px|20px|true|true”]<\/p>\nAbout the Author<\/span><\/h3>\n