How To Find Fulfilling Work
By: Tan Ying Ying
Tags: Self Improvement, Life Lessons, Careers, Work Life Balance, Growth

How To Find Fulfilling Work

Three areas to find fulfilling work: Meaning, Flow and Freedom

1. Meaning: The Five Dimensions of Meaning

There are extrinsic and intrinsic motivating factors when we approach work — Earning money, Achieving Status, Making A Difference, Following Our Passions and Using our Talents

How can we balance the elements in a way that would make us fulfiled? Or should we prioritise the elements based on the various needs or life stage that we are at? Knowing where our priorities lie helps us to develop a personal vision of what meaningful work is like. Creating a vision so that we could have coordinates, stars and lighthouse to lead us to where we want to be.

Earning Money: Are we earning money to meet our basic needs? Or is it something deeper? The book shares that although we have relative material abundance, we do not have an emotional abundance. Lacking in emotional security, we seek security in material things.

Are we earning money to meet our basic needs? Or is it something deeper? The book shares that although we have relative material abundance, we do not have an emotional abundance. Lacking in emotional security, we seek security in material things. Achieving Status: This boosts our self-esteem and gains respect. Two ways of gaining status — First type: A cool job that people admire. Second type: Our position relative to others or among your peers.

This boosts our self-esteem and gains respect. Two ways of gaining status — First type: A cool job that people admire. Second type: Our position relative to others or among your peers. Making a Difference: Two challenges — Impact of our actions whether we can see it and whether it can make money.

Two challenges — Impact of our actions whether we can see it and whether it can make money. Following our Passions: Do what you love. There is a benefit of pride to be passionate about your work, but sometimes passion may drain when it becomes too repetitive. For example, I liked arranging flowers, but I can’t do it every day.

Do what you love. There is a benefit of pride to be passionate about your work, but sometimes passion may drain when it becomes too repetitive. For example, I liked arranging flowers, but I can’t do it every day. Using our Talents: What you are good at.

According to Herminia Ibarra, one of the world’s leading academic thinkers on career change shared that:

We are not oneself, but many selves. In us, there is a not just one hidden treasure waiting to be discovered at the core of our being — rather, we are a multitude of possibilities….

Multi-faceted experiences, interest and talents allow many possibilities for us to explore and discover what we can become.

2. Flow

The concept of flow was first developed by Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and has been recently made popular.

A flow experience is one in which we are completely and unselfconsciously absorbed in whatever we are doing. Being in the zone and fully engaged in the present that the past and future fade away. Flow makes us lose track of time. — it’s so hard to get this in our modern world, struggling even to focus.

Flow needs to be combined with meaning because not all flow tasks would result in a more fulfilling job if it does not fit some of the above five dimensions of meaning.

3. Freedom

Lastly, the book shared on the gift of freedom such as time, autonomy, ‘work-life balance’.

Three dilemmas — How can we satisfy a desire for greater freedom

Security and stability of a job — Self-employment and invent our own job

Finding fulfilling work — Work for a fulfilling life

Career ambitions — Family

To have a fulfilling job is a balance between the need for freedom versus security. To some, having a job may be their main life project, while to others, a job may be their foundation so that they are free to pursue other ambitions between work and leisure activities.