Firstly, you’re not alone if you are unhappy in your job.

Lots of people feel it, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

I got to visit Facebook Singapore’s new office last week, where there was a panel discussion about having great workplaces. So apparently there’s this company Great Place to Work that does extensive research into what makes a great workplace based on data from more than 10 million employees in 45 countries.

One of the key factors in a great workplace is that people have pride in what they do. 

How Do You Find Pride in What You Do?

When we talk about pride here, we’re not talking about the short-lived kind that’s based on transient features of your role. Having a wonderful view from your desk or working for one of the top companies in the industries is great, but as many who’ve experienced these can testify, they don’t guarantee your commitment to the job or whether you look forward to going to work everyday.

Instead, what’s important is whether you have a mission mindset (The School of Life, 2017). What is the core reason that drew you to your current role? This goes beyond the surface perks of the role. What you do in life goes beyond your job. Working will take up about half a century of your life. Look beyond that. Broaden your perspective. Ask yourself what your personal mission is.

My Mission?

It sounds very lofty and maybe a bit grandiose, because we all have a multitude of interests. And that’s fine! Finding fulfilment in what you do, however, requires reducing the range of your focus. It can seem a little hard to take most of your fingers out of the proverbial pies you’ve stuck them in (fear of missing out, anyone?), but when you reduce what you care about to just a few big things, it becomes easier for you to make decisions about the things you do every day. This protects you from getting swept along the plans of others.

It’s important to make a distinction between what you want and what others need. People with missions may end up with lots of money and success, but that wasn’t what led them to the mission in the first place. The School of Life highlights ONE question that makes it helpful for you to find your mission. Ask yourself:

Among all the problems facing humanity, what are the ones that properly interest you?

What gets you fired up? What kind of topics do you feel strongly about? This is a good time to start noticing when you’re more prone to ‘argue’ with friends – not arguments from emotions, but from a strong stand you have about the world. And finally, what are your talents?

Talents Are A Piece of the Pie, Not the Whole Pie

This is where your CliftonStrengths results become relevant.

It isn’t enough to be aware of your talents. How are you using them to your advantage?

Being how we naturally think, feel, and behave, our talents can either help or hinder us, depending on how we choose to use them. In his book Talent is Never Enough, John Maxwell writes that if you neglect to make the right choices to release and maximize your talent, you will see that you’re continually underperforming. Your talent allows you to stand out, but making the wrong choices make you sit down. Your friends, families, coaches, and bosses see your giftedness, but they may wonder why you so often come up short of expectations. Your talent gives you opportunities, but your wrong choices shut the door. Talent is a given, but you must earn success.

Some are doubtful to concede that each of us has a set of innate talents that lets us contribute powerfully to the world. The “born vs made” debate deserves an article on its own (Hambrick, Ullen, and Mosing, 2016). Granted, there is some merit to the argument that anyone can learn to do anything as long as they put their mind to it, and training is required to become an expert. But it’s also true that some people take much more training than others to acquire the same skill. In their review, Hambrick, Ullen, and Mosing (2016) present many different studies supporting the influence of genetic factors on a wide range of abilities such as musicality, sprinting, working memory, cognitive ability.

Finding Your Mission

Your mission lies where your skills and aptitudes intersect with the needs of the world.

“Every single one of you is an original. There never was you, and there never will be you. You are unique. There are no extras. Even identical twins have different fingerprints – What’s the evolutionary need for every person to have different imprints, unless every one of us is meant to make a different imprint?” – Cathy Heller, Don’t Keep your Day Job

Again, ask yourself:

Among all the problems facing humanity, what are the ones that properly interest you?

This isn’t something you can answer overnight. Take time to explore and start collecting data about yourself. You will slowly but surely discover it.

References

Hambrick, D. Z., Ullen, F., Mosing, M. (2016). Is Innate Talent a Myth? Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-innate-talent-a-myth/

Heller, C. (2018). Courage in Owning Your Uniqueness. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B99WCOajNns

The School of Life (2017). Finding a Mission. Retrieved from https://www.theschooloflife.com/thebookoflife/finding-a-mission/

What is a Great Workplace? Retrieved from http://www.greatplacetowork.com.sg/our-approach/what-is-a-great-workplace