In our careers and at work, change is bound to happen over the years. We might sometimes find ourselves perplexed, staring down the ultimate question:
What’s my job? What’s my role? What’s the purpose of my job?
You speak with your superior to get clarity on this, or talk to your superior’s superior, or maybe talk to your spouse, or a close friend. You get some answers, but only a few provide clarity. Many others add to the confusion.
If you’re still unsatisfied and the question is still lurking, what do you do?
The answer is to be found more inside us, than outside—which we fail to notice.
Understand, in the first place, that this question can only come up when you don’t have a vision or meaningful purpose at work. That vision and purpose has to be bigger than yourself, bigger than what you are at that point in your life.
Acknowledging that such a question arises only when a larger vision and mission is missing, is the first step in trying to answer it.
A larger vision and meaningful purpose come from doing what excites you and what you love—rather than just focusing on the rewards.
It may be how your personal life’s vision aligns with the corporate goals where you work. Or, it may be undergoing a job change so that the new position matches your life’s mission. Or, it could be starting your own business so that what you do enlivens you.
The first time you start focusing on a larger mission, you’ll easily become anxious and worried because you won’t be chasing rewards. But with time and persistence you’ll begin to handle those worries better. You’ll grow in confidence and ultimately see your efforts paying off.
When you persist in doing what sets your heart on fire, your faith gets stronger in the rewards that you’ll reap in the long term.
To start with, you don’t have to go all in. You can always start with a little and build up from there, to where you absolutely know what your job is.
So, there are two answers to: “What’s my job?”
One is what your boss says it is . . . and the other is what you choose (and then persist in finding).