30
february 2016yogajournal.comWISDOM
live well
continued from page 28
opposed to our judgments, assumptions,
and preconceptions. In this way, mindful-
ness often translates to a sense of excel-
lence—when you are fully present in what
you’re doing, you can do it well and find
meaning in that process. The second con-
cept, compassion, is really listening to
others, treating them with respect, and
acknowledging our connectedness.
The truth is that with mindfulness and
compassion, all work has the potential to
be meaningful depending on how we pay
attention to and relate to others and our
own experiences. Let’s look at four ways
to find meaning in our work lives through
different practices of the two concepts.- Mindfully set expectations
of what your job means to you.
Steve Jobs has been both lauded and criti-
cized for his 2 oo 5 commencement speech at
Stanford University, in which he told gradu-
ates, “The only way to do great work is to
love what you do.” On the one hand, Jobs
knew the importance of finding meaning in
our work—especially given that Americans
are clocking plenty of time there. According
to a recent Gallup report, we spend 47 hours
a week working. On the other hand, Jobs
overlooked the fact that it’s possible to find
meaning in jobs we may not think we love.
To me, the first step to finding meaning
at work is to be mindful of our expecta-
tions. Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor of
organizational behavior at Yale University,
has been studying a classification system
that can help you recognize how you expect
to think of work: as a job, as a career, or
as a calling.
If you tune into yourself, you can
describe your work orientation and then
find ways to gain greater job satisfaction.
Ask yourself, Why am I doing this work?
Is it because of the paycheck, or with what
Wrzesniewski calls a “job orientation”?
If so, great: There is value in self-reliance.
Are you working at your job because it’s
a stepping-stone in your career—and thus
have a “career orientation”? Acknowledging
this may create emotional freedom through
your honesty. Finally, are you doing your
work because it is your passion, or with
a “calling orientation”? If so, celebrate the
fact that, for you, meaning is in the doing.- Set a daily intention,
and reshape it every day.
Try approaching your work with a deep,
authentic intention you locate at your core.
For instance, before a meeting or significant
phone call, ask yourself, “What do I want
from this encounter? Do I want to negotiate
more time off? Do I want to facilitate reso-
lution? Do I want to emerge the victor in
a debate?” This will help you identify that
which is in accord with your values.
Maybe your intention is to approach
every person with whom you interact with
kindness. A lot of people have told me that
they try to use every encounter at work as
a time to really listen to others. Doing so
diminishes the difficulty of whatever task
is at hand, and instead allows these people
to find meaning from being respectful.
If your intention is to communicate with
others, maybe you make composing email
your daily mindfulness practice. Carefully
think through the language you are using,
and take three breaths after each paragraph
you write. When you’re done writing the
email, reread it, imagining you are the
recipient, and consider its emotional impact.