The secret of life.
Well, I guess if I share today my secret of life with you, it won’t be a secret anymore:)
The secret of life is to ask for what YOU want.
This means to be bold and seek what you want most in your life. Ask for what you want, which means making decisions and pursuing the path in life that WORKS best for you. It should align with your core values and purpose, which is where your energy is now. When you decide to pursue what you want most in your life, whether it is the proper work, relationship, or lifestyle that fits you best, you must give yourself PERMISSION to move forward. It would be much easier if someone else made these decisions for us, but it would not be as fulfilling or lead to an authentic life. When you pursue the secret of life, you will feel better, be happier, sleep better, and make a more significant difference in the world for you and others.
I’ll be cheering you on as you go.
The importance of developing your internal motivation.
While there’s nothing inherently wrong with receiving an award, note of appreciation, or a compliment, the issue arises when we become dependent on these external validations for our self-worth. This reliance can lead to a cycle of feeling good only when praised and feeling bad when not. It’s crucial to break free from this cycle and find our own internal sources of validation.
It is empowering to develop your own internal motivation that will last a lifetime. This means learning and practicing self-appreciation. The most rewarding achievements are often the ones we give ourselves. Set your own goals, ones that align with your most important values. Let your measure of success be whether or not you achieve your own goals, on your own terms.
By cultivating your own long-lasting internal motivation, you pave the way for personal growth, happiness, and a sense of control in your life. This, in turn, equips you to be a more effective and compassionate leader, both for yourself and others.
Joyful work is subjective.
How can you find joyful work?
The enjoyment of work is subjective.
The best indicator for joyful work is asking yourself, does my work make a difference for me?
That is, do you feel good about your work? Does your work align with your abilities, what you are motivated to do, and your deep interests?
This subjective feeling of joyful work will make the difference between internal motivation and working just for the money. In our first few jobs, we tend to work just for the most money, which is normal, but as we age, and if we are honest with ourselves, we seek work that we enjoy and that makes a difference in how we feel about ourselves and our world.
The difference between RIGHT work and wrong work.
First let’s define the difference between right work and wrong work. Wrong work is work which you don’t enjoy. The work feels stifling and constraining. Having wrong work, you don’t look forward to going there every day. You secretly hope some crisis occurs, so you don’t have to go because any alternative seems better than another wasted day at the office.
Wrong work causes stress, anxiety, health problems, and relationship problems. Wrong work leaves you drained at the end of the day. You leave work asking yourself, how can I switch to anything else? Having wrong work, it feels like you are doing the work meant for other people. The work doesn’t feel right for you. It doesn’t match your interests and abilities.
Right work feels completely different!
With the right work you feel full of energy while working and content. The right work leaves you wanting more at the end of the day. You are excited, fulfilled, and feel like you are contributing to an area that is coherent for you. Having the right work, you feel happier and everything in your life seems to work much better as well. Right work makes you feel like you can do this work forever. You feel like your abilities and interests are aligned. You like the people you work with, and everyone seems to feel the same about you.
Finally, with the right work you can’t tell the difference between play and work, vocation, and vacation, and you leave the office on Friday a little disappointed that you have to wait until Monday to continue!
Are you interested in bringing Dr.Nathanson’s Joyful Work Model Workshop to your organization?