What gives?
In our culture, we're highly encouraged to select a job and career path that will provide us with a sense of stability and security, and can meet our financial needs, rather than pursue work that adds a sense of meaning, fulfillment, and purpose to our lives.
As a compromise, a well-intentioned friend or relative might advise you to "find what you love to do, then figure out how to get paid for doing it". Rarely have they, themselves, ever accomplished this task, but it does make a nice internet meme.
It starts to seem like truly meaningful work--the kind that aligns with our passions and dreams--is reserved for a select group of extraordinary people who either know a really well-kept secret or simply have something we don't.
RELATED: How To Keep Going When It Feels Like Everyone Else Has It All Figured Out
Job satisfaction statistics confirm that a whole heckuva lot of us are still searching for something that resembles meaningful work. In fact, recent surveys show that over 70% of workers are either not engaged or, worse, actively disengaged in their work life.
This isn't a minor detail.
For decades, psychologists have known that feelings of stagnation are detrimental to our sense of well-being on both a physical and emotional level. Pursuing our life dreams and cultivating a sense of meaning and purpose is an essential aspect of identity development, and absent this developmental process, we end up wandering through our days suffering from fatigue, boredom, depression or any other variety of ailment that signals something is wrong.
So, what exactly is meaningful work?
Meaningful work could be found in any of the quadrants of the diagram above. But, the real sweet spot is where all of these areas intersect. When you're engaged in work that you're good at, that you love doing, that adds something useful to the world, and that benefits you in some way that matters to you--that's when you've really found your calling.
But, there's something more you'll need if you want to truly find work that fuels your soul. This is the secret sauce that is absolutely necessary to pull it all together: Agency, Autonomy and Authenticity.
I call this the Trio of Success. When these qualities are continuously fortified and congruent in your life, there is hardly anything out of your reach. But without these three ingredients, even a career that checks all of the boxes will eventually seem empty and leave you feeling stuck and directionless.
Agency
A sense of agency exists when we believe in our ability to act. This happens when we have a deeply held conviction about our capability to do something we want to do.
It's like when your parents told you that you could be anything you wanted to be when you grew up, and you decided you wanted to be a veterinarian+rock star+gymnast. Kids have an amazing sense of agency, but as we grow and accumulate life experiences, our beliefs are shaped by what we try, what we succeed at, and where we fail. We begin to adopt new (sometimes, false) ideas about our potential.
The greater your belief in your capacity and possibilities, the stronger your sense of agency becomes.
Autonomy
A lot of people use the words agency and autonomy interchangeably. However, there is an incredibly important difference between these concepts. Autonomy is the freedom and independence to exercise our sense of agency.
For example, if you believe that you would be an world class tour guide, but you're on the no-fly list--you, my earthbound friend, have agency without autonomy. Whenever there is an external influence or control over our personal agency, we do not have autonomy.
This happens a LOT in the corporate world, and it's one of the primary complaints of employees who lack engagement. It's also a leading cause of employee turnover. Some of the brightest and most innovative employees never get to reach their full potential due to the influence of corporate culture and politics on autonomy.
Fortunately, more and more innovative companies are coming into the marketplace. Start-ups often offer a great place for cultivating creative genius due to their flexible attitudes and approaches to workplace norms.
Authenticity is the glue that binds everything together. Without it, agency and autonomy mean almost nothing.
The myth is that there are authentic people and inauthentic people in the world. But, the reality is that authenticity is not a character trait. Authenticity is a practice that we decide to engage with in moment-by-moment choices.
My colleague and mentor, Dr. Brené Brown, describes authenticity as "the daily practice of letting go of who we think we're supposed to be and embracing who we are". Authenticity calls upon our courage and asks us to show up and allow our true selves to be seen.
RELATED: Learn more about my partnership with Brené Brown
Most people spend their lives working to obtain a specific end goal. Maybe that's a house in a desirable neighborhood, a prestigious job title, a coveted salary, or a certain lifestyle they've always dreamed about. But these objectives are fleeting. Every single one of them can be taken away in a heartbeat.
The research I've done, as well as all of the research I've read, doesn't demonstrate that any of these things can replace the basic human need of engaging in meaningful work. The one thing that can never be taken away from you is the ability to choose how you want to show up in the world.
What choice are you making?
How are you showing up in your work? I've created a big ol' workbook full of exercises to help you explore the topic of meaningful work, and it's totally FREE to download--woot! Get it here.
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