Doing it on purpose

I started my newsletter (and this blog) because I wanted to create a space to talk openly and honestly about work and how to (try to) stay happy and sane while building a business. I want to connect with people about the stuff that we don’t always talk about. And every time I have spoken about some of the hard stuff here or on Instagram I get such lovely messages that helps me feel less alone (and maybe you do too).

It’s that resonance that I’m looking for. It’s my ‘why’ in all my work really. Connecting. Communicating. That buzz of reading something that someone else has written and just being like, ‘yep, me too’.

It’s the closest thing I’ve found to purpose in my work. But purpose if a funny thing, especially when you are self-employed. I think being free from a lot of structure we have more space to think about what we are doing and why.

Even though I love working with people who put purpose at the front of what they do, I got a bit bogged down in my own purpose earlier this year. My search for purpose in my work had me questioning everything. Was I doing enough? Was I helping enough people? What was the point of all of it?

Then I read a great book from the School of Life called ‘A Job to Love.’ The School of Life is a very pragmatic organisation that’s all about helping us realistically navigate modern life. The book talks about how traditionally work has served to simply pay us; to enable us to buy food and shelter. But as society has developed, we’ve started looking for meaning in our work too.

That, the book says, is putting a lot of pressure on our jobs. Perhaps we are asking too much to be fairly paid AND completely fulfilled by work.

I don’t think work should make you miserable, but perhaps looking at work and to fulfil us emotionally, spiritually and financial is a big ask. Perhaps it’s okay if purpose comes and goes in your work. I see glimpses of mine – and I’m weaving it into what I do, but I’ve found some comfort in knowing it’s not a necessity, but more like the cherry on top.

Knowing your purpose might make your work more fulfilling, but maybe it’s okay for not all of it to feel purposeful. And maybe sometimes the purpose of work is to pay the bills, challenge us to keep growing and allow us to log off at the end of the day or year and enjoy the rest of life.