Meaning comes from being connected to a higher purpose and knowing that what we do is making a difference. Meaning fuels excitement, joy, and overall wellbeing. People who live a life of meaning are less likely to develop sleep problems, have cardiovascular events, or die prematurely. They remain satisfied with life even when experiencing a difficult day. Research highlights at least three ways that living with meaning improves wellbeing: it reduces stress, improves coping, and leads to better health promoting behaviors.
One of the best parts about living with meaning is it is self-determined. One way we can find meaning is by knowing our values and understanding why those values they are important to us. We can discover our values by making a list of everything we cherish and then identifying the top 2-3 things items on our list. Once top values are identified, we can write a personal statement for each that includes how we intent to live that value and why. For example, if one of our top values is health, we could write a statement like, “I find joy and meaning in exercising, eating nutritiously, and getting restful sleep each day because I want to take care of the amazing body God has given me”; or “I find great meaning in being active because I want to have energy to enjoy my friends and family.” Having a core belief like the ones mentioned above can help us find greater joy, motivation, and purpose for working out, planning healthy meals, or going to bed at a reasonable hour.
We can create meaning for every aspect of our life. By doing this we can transform what might seem mundane into something of joy. For example, doing dishes can become enjoyable if rather than dreading the work, we insert a higher meaning such as we value our role of providing a clean and clutter-free home for our family, or creating order and organization out of chaos.
Creating meaning for our employment can be especially helpful in that so much of our life is spent in the workplace. Without meaning, work can become tedious, and we might find ourselves just biding time, earning checks, paying bills, and waiting for something better to come along.
In a study done by The Energy Project and Harvard, involving 12,000 employees from a broad range of companies and industries, they found when a person derives meaning and significance from their work, they are 1.7 times more likely to be satisfied with their job, 1.4 times more likely to be engaged, and three times more likely to stay with their organization.
By creating meaning at work, we can transform our experience into something that is highly fulfilling. When we have meaning, we work differently; we feel more energized and search for creative solutions, build our skills to better contribute, and collaborate more with others for the success of the team.
Meaning at work at BYU can be derived by focusing on how our role fits into the inspired mission of the university and how what we do contributes to the aims of a BYU education for the students we serve. Some questions we could ask ourselves are: Given my role and my set of gifts, knowledge, and abilities, what is my unique contribution to this important work? How can I use my role and gifts to positively impact students and others within my sphere of influence? By identifying how our distinctive skills and abilities can make a positive difference we can breathe new life into our work. A global development leader, Jessica Amortegui said, “People aren’t inspired solely by what they do. People are lit up when they know why what they do matters.”
Let’s take some time this week to give meaning to the various aspects of our life so we can transform the mundane into something of beauty.
Opinion | Why You Hate Work - The New York Times (harvard.edu)How a Sense of Purpose in Life Improves Your Health | Psychology Today