Tag: David Whyte

Love the World

Posted on by WorkAuthentically

“What the worlds needs now is love, sweet love / It's the only thing that there's just too little of…” Whether you’re imagining Jackie DeShannon, Dionne Warwick, or Burt Bacharach in Austin Powers, chances are you’ve heard those song lyrics (my apologies in advance that it will be stuck in your head the rest of the day!).

So if the world needs love, how do we put more love into the world?

It starts by being ourselves.

You were probably expecting a rant on being nicer to strangers on social media (you should!) or showing kindness to anyone that crosses your path (yes, do that!) or hugging everyone you see (nope, don’t do that yet! There are pandemic protocols!).

Instead, we can put more love into the world when we embody the amazing, interesting, unique people we all are.

Appreciating what makes you authentically you enables you to find meaningful work that perfectly aligns with you. And the whole point of all of that is to share wonderful you with the world! You can do this as an unknown, but no less significant contributor to the tapestry we all weave, or as the most famous person ever to walk the earth, literally known the world over.

As David Whyte so eloquently put it, “What if the world is holding its breath – waiting for you to take the place that only you can fill?” 

I love that question! Have you ever considered the possibility that the world is waiting for you, right now as you are today? It doesn’t need us to be perfect or successful or rich or a certain weight. We don’t need to change anything. We just need to be willing to offer who we are, strengths and flaws and everything in between, to the world.

There are lots of ways to do this including through your work, volunteering, raising a family, being a good neighbor, fixing something that’s broken, helping without being asked, saying a kind word at just the right moment, and so much more!

So be you and share that with others. It's what the world needs.

#PositiveAction Anything, no matter how small, that puts more love into the world is the best thing you can do in any given moment.

 

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Love Work

Posted on by WorkAuthentically

Have you ever been so excited about your day that you woke up early, with enthusiasm to get started? I remember feeling that way regularly as a kid. It seems the older we get, the more rare those days tend to be. Often it takes something out of the ordinary, like a special holiday, a special trip, or a special occasion for us to feel excited about our day.

Have you ever woken up that way thinking about work?

I shared last week that I believe everyone deserves to find fulfilling work that leverages their strengths and interests.

I also believe that work can be fun and enjoyable and if yours isn’t, it’s time for a change! I help people turn their job into joy because I’ve seen first-hand how our homes, workplaces, and communities are transformed when people love what they do.

It’s pretty simple, really. Miserable people who are grumpy about going to a job they hate have a hard time letting the miserable and grumpy go when they get home at night. Joyful people who are happy about going to a job they love have a hard time keeping the joy from seeping into everything they do.

If you don’t enjoy your work (and 70% of American workers don’t!), I want to encourage you because I’ve been there. It’s hard. Most days are a grind of surviving until Friday when you hopefully get a break. If you’re feeling stuck there right now, give yourself one thing to look forward to in the next week. Just having something small, like talking to a friend or getting a special coffee can make a huge difference when you’re struggling.

In order to find work you do enjoy, you need to believe that it’s possible.

Most of us are more than willing to settle for work that doesn’t excite us. We believe that responsible people go to work so they can pay their bills and provide for their families, without any consideration to purpose, which is a shame since that’s what our souls crave. We long for meaning in our work, doing something that matters and that lights us up inside. But we let another day, week, month pass in the name of being responsible.

I’d argue that the most responsible thing you can do, the thing that will have the greatest impact on your life (and everyone around you), is to instead find work you love.

#PositiveAction Search for one job posting where you would actually be excited to wake up and go to work!

My recommended reading on this topic: The incredible book by David Whyte, Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity.

 

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay

Book Lessons Part 3

Posted on by WorkAuthentically

I’m sharing some of the lessons I’ve learned from writing and publishing my first book. Check out Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 for more details.

Lesson 3 – Focus on the process, not the results. Because even when you follow the process, the results aren’t guaranteed.

The world is filled with stories of stuff that didn’t work. Failed inventions. Business ideas that a person poured their heart and soul into, only to see that the market didn’t support it. Sometimes, we even use those stories as a reason not to try.

I loved Seth Godin’s book, What to Do When It’s Your Turn (and it’s always your turn). It very eloquently describes the exact phenomenon I experienced as part of the process. There is no guaranteed, tried-and-true method to create a #1 song, a bestseller, or a viral sensation. But wanting these results often changes our approach. We try what worked for someone or something else and hope it will apply to us. And it’s disappointing when that doesn’t work.

But the value is in the process itself. To quote David Whyte, “Good work, done well for the right reasons and with an end in mind” is the reward. Not the positive or negative reviews from others.

It’s about putting your best into the end product authentically, regardless of how it’s received by anyone else.

An awesome friend and fellow writer helped me keep my eye on the process every single time I got distracted by fear of possible results. Sidebar: if you love football (and who doesn’t really?!?!), check out his books on the NFL draft and free agency.

So what sorts of fears were distracting me? Fears like: What if everyone hates it? They might. What if no one buys a copy? Definitely a possibility. What if I spell a word wrong and get a bunch of negative reviews and angry emails? Some people do get upset with poor grammar.

All of those things I listed are possibilities. There are lots of others too, like selling a million copies or becoming a New York Times bestseller (funny how we don’t worry about those positive results like we do the negative!). Either way, I don’t control the results. So I can’t let it change what I’m doing or how I’m doing it or why I’m doing it!

Easy to say… much harder to let go of the results when we’re in the thick of things at work. Sometimes we need the results in order to earn a bonus or reward. Sometimes we need the results to keep our jobs. It can become high stakes, high stress really quickly.

The interesting thing is that when we keep our focus on doing good work for the right reasons, the results often follow.

#PositiveAction What results or fears do you need to let go of so you can focus your attention on the process of doing good work?

 

 

 

Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay