09/02/2024
"Do true work and you'll never work another day of your life" - it's a statement I'm still learning as I go because the definition deepens as you grow.
If you asked me what "true work" meant when I first started in this career as an associate? I'll probably shrink back a lil and mumble something fluffy before changing the topic.
I knew very little about the meaning of work's purpose. I knew very little about a lot of things but that's a story for another day.
I never saw myself EVER joining the financial sector. Don't talk about diving into numbers and having to learn financial jargons and the likes 😅
How can I talk about true work when there is no acceptance of what I do? Right?
I remember struggling with this for the first few years of my career. I avoided the work I needed to do to get the results I want because "financial planner", "financial advisor", "FA" had me feeling ashamed. Like I had no better option so - cmi join this 🫣
No cap.
I wasn't proud of what I do so I overcompensated with fanciful job titles that don't exactly exist. I took ten sentences to mask what I want to say. I basically charged into walls just to avoid facing what would bring me towards what I want.
Ten years into this career I'm working on being a better me through facing the very things I tried so hard to avoid: fear of looking bad, fear of failing, fear of the stigma of the role, the list goes on! And that to me is "true work". 💛
What is the purpose of work? It’s more than what you think. It matters because we spend one third of our day on it!
Out of 24 hours we easily spend 8 hours at work. And if you think about it .. this does not include the countless hours preparing for work, travelling to work, stressing about work, thinking about work! 😵💫
Work is also one of the key ways we get to make an impact. We spend our lives in contact with colleagues, clients, and community. The ripple effect compounds; even from the simplest job.
And the thing about all the time and energy put into work doesn't just change others. It changes us too.
Who I am now versus who I was in 2014 would not have been possible if I worked alone.
True work matters because the people around us matter. "I am, because you are" articulates the importance of working in life to me.
Aside from our working because we have to (until we get to); I believe it gives purpose to living. And when our purpose changes, it sets a whole series of changes in motion. From how we think and feel when we think of work to the decisions we make, whether we bring an excellence mindset to give our 💯 versus just getting it done which alters the trajectory of our life.
Work contains a thread that we can follow to lead life in an ALIVE manner or it can lead us to a life pursuing emptiness; akin to being the "walking dead".
Our belief about work’s purpose ultimately changes more than our careers. It changes our life and the lives of others.
And in the past couple of years as my role has evolved? I've been blessed to get to make an impact to sunshines who've in turn impacted my life.
It isn't always easy; and that's what makes it worthwhile. Because true work gives meaning to the mundane that we do on the daily.
If you've read all the way here and you've been wondering about the meaning behind your work or you're tired of seemingly doing the same thing with no clear purpose?
Let's have a chat!
