Finding Purpose at Your Job

Shawna Lake
3 min readDec 4, 2020

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Is your job a source of stress and frustration? Do you dread each time the alarm sounds? Does your work fail to ignite passion in your heart?

Believe it or not, your employment can provide both the income you need and the fulfillment you crave!

Add To Your Skill Set

One of the reasons your job may be undesirable and unfulfilling is that it becomes mundane. You do the same tasks in the same order. Every day is the same as yesterday, and it is a drain on your energy and creativity.

Remember that you can always add to your skillset. Even if something is not in your job description, you can take the initiative to learn more. If you have not found your purpose yet, you can find it if you refuse to put up with more of the same.

For instance, if you are working a retail job and only in charge of cashier transactions, pursue other opportunities. Maybe you can learn more about the other positions at the store and offer opinions on making things run more smoothly.

Study and gain experience that can lead to a managerial position. Eventually, you might find that leading people is your real purpose. If you stay in your routine, you may fail to discover the gifts within yourself that can lead to a more exciting daily experience at work.

Have The Right Attitude

Most things in life come down to having the right attitude. If you believe that you can find purpose at your job, you can. Many jobs are exciting at first. Over time, your duties can become routine, and your enthusiasm can disappear quickly.

Everyone has a bad day from time to time, but most days should bring you joy. Thankfully, you can make changes that make a massive difference in the satisfaction and fulfillment you experience at work. Those changes start with an attitude that looks on the bright side and focuses on solutions instead of problems.

Identify Your Next Steps

Start by identifying the changes that you want to make. First, ask yourself if you are in the right line of work. Do you see yourself continuing with this type of job for a long time?

If you want to stay in this line of work, identify why you have not found your purpose yet. If you do not like your work, it’s time to discover what you want to do and go for it.

Can you identify simple changes you can make in your attitude or your approach to your duties? Write down the things you like about your job. Think about the contribution your position makes to others and your organization. Think about the aspects of your job that fit in with your goals and values.

Reflect on what you would like to get out of your job. Where do you see your career in five years? How about in 10 years? What results would you like to achieve? What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail? What is the next level of success that you deserve in your current position?

Make concrete long-term goals that get you energized. Even if you don’t quite reach your goals in the time frame you set for them, just working towards those goals will ignite a passion within you that fuels your journey to the joy you deserve.

Communicate Effectively

Sometimes you can ease the daily stress you feel at your job by working on communicating more effectively. If you improve the way you relate to coworkers and communicate ideas, you will be able to succeed more efficiently and more often. And you will be able to clear up conflict quickly. You will meet your goals by helping others to understand you better.

Find passion in your work by ensuring you are in the right place, setting goals that fire you up, and taking action each day until you achieve them. If you do, you will find the job fulfillment that you crave.

If you are not sure where to start finding what may be next for you, consider the Strong Interest Inventory. It is the only assessment considered valid and reliable to link occupation with interests, motivators, and personality. Watch a sample Strong report to see if this might be a good step for you. Click here and have the video and a sample report emailed to you.

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Shawna Lake

Founder of Deep End Talent Strategies-keeping job seekers and employers connected to what the other side needs and wants in today’s job market.