3 Signs You’re Missing Purpose From Your Work
My life looked great from the outside. I had a great job in a nice office in Downtown Vancouver, I was living the city life, going for happy hours with my colleagues, I was getting good performance reviews and life was okay but I kept having this feeling of unhappiness.
Deep unhappiness that didn’t quite go away, like a shadow that was always there.
I used to ask my work bestie “do you ever just feel unhappy, for no reason, not sad but just unhappy”?
Looking back I remember that moment so clearly because I can now see it for what it was. Everything looks bright and sunny on the outside, but cloudy on the inside, because I was lacking purpose from my life, from my work.
Fast forward to 4 years later (now), a Founder of a mindfulness consulting firm, I’ve managed to combine purpose and profit successfully. By stepping away from my 9–5 life and turning in, I was able to find myself, find my voice, and most importantly figure out what that “unhappy” feeling was.
3 Signs You’re Missing Purpose From Your Work
- You feel exhausted from your work constantly and easily
- You dread work that you used to enjoy
- You’re constantly dreaming about a “perfect life” somewhere in the future & looking at what everyone else is doing
The first sign is that you’re finding yourself more and more exhausted by the work you’re doing, and you dread it. You know that feeling you get sometimes on Sundays “ugh tomorrow is Monday” — well you start having that feeling every day or most days. The Sunday scaries are turning into the everyday scaries. You feel exhausted and dread the thought of having to do your work or attend one more meeting.
The second sign is that you no longer enjoy work that you used to, that fire you used to feel inside that motivated you so much that you didn’t even know where the motivation came from. Hours would pass by and you realized all of the sudden you were focused and joyfully working the whole time.
Now you’re getting that feeling less and less.
And finally, the third sign, is that you’re constantly dreaming about “when that thing happens my life is going to be perfect, I’ll be less burnt out, I’ll love my work again”. You keep on waiting for something to happen, the next best thing to come along and then you’ll feel happy or satisfied again, but it never quite happens.
You’re also looking at what other people are doing more than ever before, you feel like you’re falling behind while everyone else is doing amazing things. Everyone else is being recognized and doing things they love, and you wish you were more like them, or you wish you had their life and career.
This third one is a a big one, the more time you spend looking at what other people are doing, the less focused you are on yourself. You become less and less empowered in your own life.
These are all red flags 🚩 and indicate you’re missing purpose from your work, what’s actually driving you at work is something other than purpose, could be security, safety, prestige, a fancy title (CEO), money, or fear.
These motivations are what I call short term motivators because they do motivate you, but not in the long run. I see these signs so clearly now when I look back at myself 4 years ago & I see them often with my clients, particularly leaders who have either been in the same industry for a long time OR leaders who were pressured to go into certain roles.
Purpose and profit can co-exit and you deserve a joyful life that is filled with meaningful work, if you’re seeing these 3 signs in your life, it’s time to look at how your work aligns with your values and what you really want to achieve in life.
Aura Telman is the Founder & CEO of 13thrive, a mindfulness consulting firm on a mission to empower leaders to lead with joy & build community at work. Find out more at www.13thrive.com
