The Power of Meaningful Work
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Claire: [00:00:00] where can I find meaning in this job? And sometimes we just get stuck on that hamster wheel and we forget. to step back, take the time. and ask yourself how meaningful. Is the work that you're doing right now, how does it make you feel?
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Claire: Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of the Small Town Entrepreneur Podcast. I'm your host, Claire Bouvier, and today we're going to dive into a topic that can change the way you approach work and your life and the power of meaningful work. By the end of this episode, you're going to learn why meaningful work will change your life.
Claire: Not only boost your performance, it will give you career [00:01:00] growth, personal well being, and it just might be the key to the next leap in life that you're looking for. More and more people are seeking meaning in their work, and that speaks volumes
Claire: the amazing thing is, is that when we do find purpose in what we're meant to do, it's not going to just improve our careers, but it's going to improve every part of our, our wellbeing, our health, our happiness, everything. And there's been tons of different studies showing that, you know, employees that find work meaningful are actually 33 percent more productive.
Claire: And. They're 69 percent more likely not to consider leaving their job the next six months, and 75 percent are committed to their organizations. That's a game changer alone. If you're listening as a leader in a [00:02:00] business or organization and making sure that your employees, making sure that you are finding parts of your life that bring meaning.
Claire: It really directly impacts how you're going to show up every day at work. And for a lot of us, that's majority of the day. So if you're working eight hour days, that's most of your wake hours. And there is absolutely nothing worse than to show up and feel good. Absolutely miserable. And sometimes we just have to step back, take the time.
Claire: You can't change it right away. I know I was in a career for a long time. I really enjoyed parts of it. But after a while, my health started to deteriorate and I was forced. I didn't have a choice. And so it's so important that when we are choosing our work, recognizing that if. We feel like there's meaning in it, then we are going to be more productive.
Claire: So, I want you to take a moment right now and ask yourself [00:03:00] how meaningful. Is the work that you're doing right now, how does it make you feel? Are you excited about what you're contributing? And sometimes pursuing work it's not always fun,
Claire: But it's important to know that you're working towards something that, you know, you're building something and even just setting yourself up when you start your work day as being like, I'm doing this job. So that blank.
Claire: So instead of just focusing on, okay, how much money am I going to make When I come out of college or university, or after we finished high school, you'd want to focus on how hard can I work to create meaning? And I know one of the best pieces of advice I have heard in a long time was just like, come out of school and work your ass off, learn everything, find out what motivates you, find what gets you excited, Find how resourceful and creative and what things make you tick and work really, really hard.
Claire: And It's so important, [00:04:00] no matter what age you're at, to lean in and think, okay, what can I do to create meaning in the work that I'm doing right now? And you know what? The career benefits, all that will follow, but you have to be persistent.
Claire: You have to give it time and create that focus. The impact of meaningful work. Really extends way past the workplace. We spend a lot of time in the workplace, but it affects every part of how we live our life. When I started connecting deeper with the work and the purpose, what I'm doing and working for myself, I'm forced to say, okay, I have the choice for how I'm going to show up for the day and some of us are in a career and we've been it for so long and it's really, really scary to think, well, there's nothing else I could do.
Claire: I don't have the skill sets and it's not like tomorrow. Quit your job. But it's where can I find meaning in this job? How can I show up and just sense of gratitude going in? And sometimes we just get stuck on that [00:05:00] hamster wheel and we forget. So it's not about leaving your job, but it's finding out those deeper moments within the work you're doing that if it is creating meaning to really lean into that and recognize that.
Claire: You will be more energized. You will be more productive when you say, I'm doing this job because it's creating impact here or helping these people. And if it's not, then that's a great conversation to start thinking about where am I excited about and starting 2 percent of your day, dedicating to exploring that and putting in those reps, putting in the practice.
Claire: So to wrap this up, meaningful work increases performance opens up career growth. Boost your well being, you're more productive, but here's the challenge for you starting very small.
Claire: How can you bring more meaning into the work that you're already doing today? What can you add? What you can do contribute [00:06:00] the reality is that we can't just walk away from everything we've been doing and working in for years for some of us decades and it's about Channeling, changing that mindset that the work that you're doing, what part of it is meaningful and to lean that to show gratitude for that.
Claire: And it's hard. Don't get me wrong. after 15 years of mindset shifts and working really intensely with cognitive behavioral therapy and working with a lot of mentors in different areas. It's it doesn't come naturally, but starting simple, just saying I am grateful for this part of my job. That's creating meaning for whoever that's a great start and.
Claire: Steve jobs said, you know, the only way to do great work is to love what you do. And when you love what you do, everything changes. And I couldn't agree with that more. So, find something that you love in the [00:07:00] work that you're doing and flip back. That mindset, start leaning into the positives to see what is good in the work that you're doing and the meaningful impact.
Claire: And if you're someone that it's, it's opened up a whole nother can of worms of thinking, this work isn't meaningful to you, then it's so important to start small, but aim big for a change over time. Because when your work has meaning. Your potential is limitless and I see it every single day. Thanks for tuning in to the small town entrepreneur podcast with myself, Claire Bouvier.
Claire: Don't forget to subscribe and leave a review. If this episode resonated with you, it helps me reach more listeners. We'll see you next time. Don't keep spreading your awesome.
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