Are You Aligned with Your Work?

Beth and I have had many jobs during our working life. Some of them we’ve enjoyed and others not at all. Can you guess which ones we made more money and were most happy in? Yep, you’re right. The jobs when we were aligned.

When we enjoy what we do, everything goes better. We get promoted, we make more money, and we feel more fulfilled in all aspects of our life.

There have been several studies that show people who have a greater sense of well-being, are healthier, have stronger relationships, and are more creative.*

You are more likely to have a sense of well being when you align who you are with what you do. There are three components that contribute to this alignment. Each is important but not nearly as essential as how the three relate to each other.

The three are:

1. Who you are
2. What you want
3. What you do

The three are aligned when they support each other, and you eliminate conflicts and resistance.

A simple example, if you are an introvert and you want to be a salesperson, but try to use techniques for an extrovert, you will likely be frustrated, with little success, and be out of alignment with your work.

That doesn’t mean introverted people can’t be super successful in sales; they just need to align what they do with who they are. They just need to use techniques more aligned with who they are.

Let’s take a look at the three components as steps:

STEP 1 Know Who You Are
Start with understanding who you are. While it’s the most crucial step, many people gloss over it and don’t spend the time and effort to explore themselves. Knowing what’s important to you, including your hopes and fears contributes to who you are. It’s what makes you, you!

STEP 2 Understand What You Want
The second step is knowing what you want. This changes over time – which can be a good thing. When we talk about what you want, it’s necessary to dig into why. Why you want something is at least as important as what you want.

STEP 3 Determine What You Want to Do
Once you’ve taken time to know who you are and what you want, it’s time to see if what you are doing supports those two. For example, If you are creative and want to express your creativity, but are in a job that doesn’t allow you the autonomy to do so, you either need to find a different job or find another creative outlet. You have a great deal of flexibility in achieving this third step, but only if you are clear on the first two.

While this is just a short overview of a much larger process to learn to do what you enjoy, by following these three steps you can get started on your path to becoming aligned with your work.

Taking the time to learn if who you are and what you want is aligned with what you do is critical to a happy, successful, and fulfilling life.

Believe us; it’s completely worth it!