I always find myself to be extra pensive at this time of year—looking back on the learnings, experiences, joys, mistakes, and everything else from the previous year, as well as excitedly, and somewhat anxiously, considering what the future may hold. I ultimately end up running myself through a philosophical exercise to determine whether or not I made progress toward my life’s purpose in the last year and what meaning I found. Heavy stuff, I know. January can be a bit exhausting.
My personal life this year involved some pretty major changes, all of which moved me closer toward fulfilling various pieces of what I have decided is my life’s purpose, so this January my reflections have been overwhelmingly positive. However, not all Januarys have been this blissful for me. One in particular comes to mind.
I was fresh out of my undergrad, working in a job that had absolutely nothing to do with my major, but it promised to give me “good general business experience,” whatever that meant. I had done some world traveling, studied interesting subjects, volunteered for a few causes, and now it was time to be a real adult. And I was miserable.
I sat in a cubicle from 8 to 5, poring over detailed reports and making minor adjustments here and there, which could probably have been made by a computer program. I found myself regularly wondering, “What’s the point?” I felt zero sense of purpose in my job, and those same feelings began to invade my personal life. I hit what I have now affectionately termed my Quarter Life Crisis.
That January I realized that I needed to make some major changes during the year, or else the next January would be even worse, which made me sick to even consider. By the following January, I was halfway through my first year of graduate school, on a completely different career path, and I was significantly happier. Why? Because I had figured out my life’s purpose regarding my career, and I was making progress toward that purpose.
Not all of us are in a position to completely change career tracks to find meaning. And really, that usually isn’t necessary. But we do all need to understand the meaning in our work and make progress toward our individual purpose.
Just last week I was impressed by the meaning a Walmart cashier found in her job—I watched as she made a point of having a positive conversation with every single person who walked through her line. Sure her actual work is to scan barcodes and collect payment, but she finds meaning each day by helping hundreds of people to smile. No one provided her with that meaning—I’ve seen plenty of other cashiers who do nothing more than their assigned work. But she managed to find the meaning herself.
If you don’t currently find meaning in your job, seek it out. It’s not about if your job has meaning and purpose—the question is, do you? Don’t wait for someone in management to hand you meaning and purpose on a platter—go find it for yourself.
