Written by: Pin Cher, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
We all know "what" we do for a living, but when was the last time you asked yourself "why" you do what you do? Finding your utmost "why" can be the key to a much more productive, engaging, motivating, and fulfilling life at work, as I’ve found out myself in recent years, too.
Before entering university, I really had to think about what ‘useful’ major to study to benefit my future career and achieve my financial stability. But almost without a doubt, I chose to study International Management & Business Chinese just for the sake of helping me to land a rewarding career in the corporate world with high financial rewards and to climb up the corporate ladder, and to follow the expectation from my parents and society.
After graduation, though I could never bring myself wholeheartedly to believe that pursuing money was meaningful. However, I was young, adventurous, impressionable, and I was told that money is the path to happiness and fulfillment, so I planned my career according to it.
Fortunately, life teaches us many things along the way, and I was at a crossroads in my career in my beginning of my 30s, and this nagging feeling of “Is that it, is there all to life?” — kept on pondering in my head.
I began reading and listening to everything I could get in my hands-on from Simon Sinek, Jay Shetty, Eckhart Tolle, Dr. Joe Dispenza to desperately get clarity on my life and career purpose and feel meaning fulfillment.
Have you noticed when you meet people who find their work fulfilling and have a different energy about them?
Whether it’s the spark in their eyes, genuine joy in their smile, the calm and peace they radiate, or a clear focus and purpose once they speak to you? They are lit up by what they do, and it shows.
In contrast, numerous people seem perpetually “busy” and stressed by their work. They appear “successful” with a job that pays well in a corporate environment that others would love to do. Their schedule is full, and their days are productive, but yet they don’t seem to be happy and joyful. Maybe you can relate to this?
As a motivational speaker and optimist Simon Sinek declared,
“Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.”
If you like to re-balance your achievement with greater fulfillment, this article gives you great insights.
So, what are the strategies for more fulfillment?
Here are four strategies to support you to experience greater fulfillment:
1. Detach your identity from your roles.
In our society, we play many different roles in our lives, whether brother/ sister, partner/ spouse, daughter/ son, manager, leader or employee, etc. These roles and associated behavior are often shaped by rules, obligations, and expectations from others. More than often, it feels like labels that have been put on us.
It’s natural for your identity to become intertwined with your employment, given that most of us spend the majority of time at work. If you are a high achiever, it’s especially easy for your “self” or your identity to conflate with your role in your career, so this becomes the primary way to define yourself and understand your position relative to others: “I’m a doctor/ manager/ entrepreneur/ banker/ lawyer” etc. Ultimately, our brains like to categorize, and upon meeting someone new, the first thing we ask and are curious about is “what do you do?”
The challenge appears when there is no separation between yourself and your work role, so your self-worth becomes tied to the prestige of your job title or your success in your role. Any so-called failure in your work can lead to a devasting feeling of failure as a human being.
Another dilemma is when your job or any other roles change, they inevitable will, either on your own free will or not, can trigger an identity crisis, confusion, anxiety, and a sense of losing yourself.
But it’s crucial to remember your work is not your worth. You are much more than just your job title. Measuring your self-worth based on other’s perception of you- how high profile, important, or influential they deem you to be – leaves you regularly looking outward for validation and reliant on others you can’t control.
So, who are you, beyond your roles?
To explore this question further, you can:
Spend time reflecting on who you are, what your core values and interests are, what matters most to you and how do you want to show up in the world?
Actively cultivate interests beyond your professional role. This could be running, traveling, art, or anything else that captures your curiosity. Get engaged with it. Go from thinking about or reading about it to actually doing something with it, whether it’s that class to try something new, volunteering, or getting involved with communities that share your interest.
2. Bring your authentic self to work.
Have you ever had the feeling of coming to work and pretending to be someone else you are not? If coming to work feels like putting on a mask, it’s probably time to change, to a certain degree. Being yourself is the best way to form meaningful relationships, which is important to career success and growth, regardless of what field you're employed in. Research shows that folks with a strong social network have better job performance, feel more fulfilled, and even live longer.
3. Clarity why you want instead of what you want.
There is nothing inherently wrong with achievement.
But I encourage you to ask yourself:
'Why do I want what I want?'
What is your own personal meaning of success and happiness? So many of us are following the benchmark of wealth, status, and power equals success and happiness.
But alternatively, you can get clear on what ‘success’ feels like for you. You can take action to generate those feelings in your life now, rather than waiting till you’ve achieved that undefined milestone of ‘ success.’
There’s nothing quite intensive as the moment of clarity when you suddenly see what’s really possible for you.
4. Cultivate gratitude.
A shift towards a more appreciative mindset can trigger remarkable changes in your life & career. One that inspires you to move towards activities that speak most deeply to your heart. As studies have shown, gratitude helps you unlock joy, find meaning and fulfillment in your work, increase your self-esteem, make you more optimistic, and enhance your positive emotions.
The key is to be intentional and develop a continuous habit so that you increase your gratitude across four dimensions: intensity, frequency, span, and density.
What are you grateful for today, and which of these four strategies will you try first?
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Pin Cher, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Pin Cher is a personal development & career coach and comes from a diverse and international background. Her passion lies in working and coaching with corporate professionals and high performers to achieve even greater success. She helps them unlock their professional and personal potential and create an intentional, meaningful life that lights them up.
In the past, Pin herself felt stuck and lost in her career direction. This painful experience has taught her valuable lessons and insights, and now shares her experience & knowledge in helping others achieve their own success and unlocking their hidden genius.
Pin's coaching is a powerful combination of head and heart, reflection and action and her goal is to help others find their North Star to lead a life with more meaning and purpose. She brings to her clients' experience and expertise gained from multiple global careers in different industries and working with top-tier global firms.
Pin is a certified coach with the Jay Shetty Certification School and holds a B.S degree in International Management & Business Chinese and an MBA from the National University of Taiwan.
