Our Need for Meaning and Purpose
Cognicent | 26, April, 2024 | Newsletter
As a human species, we have a strong desire to make meaning of our existence. Whether it is our drive to make sense of how and why things around us happen or making sense of ourselves and why we do the things we do. This natural curiosity enables us to better engage with our environments and to learn as we navigate these environments throughout our lives.
The same is true when it comes to understanding ourselves and our place in the world. The better we are able to know who we are and what we are about, the better we can productively navigate the world. This is not to say that we need some amazingly ‘inspiring’ elevator pitch about who we are. Rather, it is more about unlocking the motivation for what we do each day.
Most of us have heard the phrase “Do something you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life”, and it sounds like a great idea. We even have plenty of real-life examples of people who have done exactly that, so let’s go straight to the top. Jeff Bezos told a class of graduating students at Princeton University his story of leaving a high-paying corporate finance role to start Amazon saying “After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion”. He later added, “Whatever it is that you want to do, you’ll find in life that if you’re not passionate about what it is you’re working on, you won’t be able to stick with it”.
Great advice from one of the richest people to have ever lived. It is probably fair to say though that there’s been plenty of people chasing dreams and following a passion, where things haven’t exactly worked out. This is not to say that having passion is a bad thing, in fact, Bezos’s comments that we need passion are 100% correct. Research tells us that if you have an interest in what you do, you are far more likely to be successful. But what is also becoming more clearly understood is that we are not bound to one passion or interest in life, and more importantly, we have the ability to ‘cultivate’ our interests and passions.
Think of it like an acquired taste. If you could cast your minds back to the first time you ate an olive or a piece of blue cheese. Maybe you recoiled at first, but over years of slowly building up your ‘tolerance’ maybe you have reached a point where you love these foods and have become a blue cheese ‘connoisseur’ knowing the different regions and varieties, and the subtle differences between them.
Our passions and interests can work the same way. By investing more time in something, we are essentially telling ourselves that it is important. Our desire to avoid cognitive dissonance comes into play, and we actually start having an interest or passion in this thing we are doing. We can further enhance this by thinking about why this thing matters in our lives. Rather than waiting for the perfect job, the perfect partner, or the perfect life, we can cultivate interest, enjoyment, and passion in what we are doing right now.
For example, maybe we have a job that wasn’t exactly what we set out to do in life, not something we had a natural passion for. We devote at least 40 hours per week doing our work and of course, we are getting paid for it. So, how can we attach meaning to it? It can happen at two levels, namely the meaning it has personally for me, and the meaning it has for others.
At a personal level, what does having a job mean to you? It could mean providing for your family, your lifestyle, and the things you like to do outside of work. It can contribute to a sense of achievement and satisfaction. If you are a parent with young kids, maybe the personal meaning is that it allows you to spend time with adults!
When it comes to the meaning for others, we are looking here at the role you play in other people’s lives, your family, friends, and peers. What does your work mean to them? Does it serve as a role model of independence and responsibility for your children? Does it create opportunities to ‘share your experiences’ with friends and introduce them to something different? Does your role support the success and satisfaction of the people around you at work?
If we believe that something matters to us, and others, then we are more likely to bring our passion and energy to what we do.
A Little Celebration
While our team have been delivering services to organisations since 2006, it was seven years ago this month that Cognicent was created. We have had an amazing first seven years, working across three continents, nine countries, and dozens of locations, and have been fortunate to work with many amazing people throughout that time, delivering our assessment, training, and coaching services to more than 20,000 people. Thank you to all our partners, clients, friends, and families for your support throughout, and here’s to the next seven of helping with the people part of your business!
We hope you have a safe, well and productive rest of your week.
– The Cognicent Team