Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you’re a janitor or taking your first summer job because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.
Tyler Perry – Actor
An important element of Intentional Self-Management is understanding your relationship to your work. For example, I’m intrigued by what makes a calling during COVID. There’s a world of difference. Work can be a meal ticket or a place to go so other things get done.
On the other hand, a calling can be almost spiritual work – work with a higher purpose. Ask yourself, is your career, job, or work a calling? Does your work drive your passion and purpose? A recent Atlantic article called the Gospel of Work: America’s New Religion shares how VUCANs are finding their identity and self-worth:
“For the college-educated elite, it (work) would morph into a kind of religion, promising identity, transcendence, and community. … Some people worship beauty, some worship political identities, and others worship their children. But everybody worships something. And workism is among the most potent of the new religions competing for congregants.”
I’ve known VUCANs whose work was a traditional calling. They enjoyed what they did. They solved difficult problems. They made critical decisions. They helped others. They were at the top of their craft. What did these VUCANs do? One was an actor, another a policeman, and another was a health care worker.
The words they used and how they described their work reveals what makes work a calling. They shared the belief their work and careers ‘made a difference.’ While money was important, the work they did and the VUCANs they worked with were personally critical to them.
Work Lesson Earned: In a few cases, the successful outcome was money. They described what they did as their ‘passion,’ their work partners as ‘family,’ and workplace as a second home. Other revelations: They plied a craft, rather than just showed up for work. It seems two things are required for workism. First, you have the ability to do a job and derive enjoyment from it. On the other hand, a calling is unique to each of us, perhaps a match of career, attitude, and aptitude that’s made in heaven while tempered on earth. A calling reinvigorates and renews your energies and your perspective.
What’s your Gospel of Work in today’s disruptive world? What’s your passion, purpose, and drivers at work? Can you say these about your job? What tradeoffs or sacrifices would you have to make to find your true calling? Capture these ideas in your Working It Playbook