When I raise this question in a 1-1 coaching, leadership training or team workshop, people look at me in ‘deep silence’. Their body language tells me: “Is this what we pay you for… for raising these kinds of questions? “ My answer: ‘Yes indeed, that is exactly what you pay me for”. Because of the simple reason that the answers to these questions really matter.
We are lucky that intelligent people have created tools like MBTI, Insights Discovery, Lumina Spark,… to help us out. But make no mistake: these fantastic tools can only do so much. They provide a definition of ‘you’ – and then the real work starts: challenging the ‘you-definition’ until you have found your ‘OWN you-definition’. Don’t lock yourself in a ‘box’, be a free, unique person.
Obviously there is a direct link between ‘who you are’ and ‘why you do this job’. The Japanese word ‘Ikigai’ (see my former blog on www.moons.be) describes this really well. If you love your job, this is probably because you derive a personal purpose or meaning from it. However, if you don’t like your job, find out what this has got to do with YOU in the first place. Don’t waste your time ‘blaming’ the company, your boss, your work or even your ‘golden cage’. Organise a mental, mindful ‘time out’. Find someone (coach, friend, colleague,…) you can trust and focus on these 2 questions. The answers might astound you. Any doubts? Try it out: after all, the proof of the pudding is in the eating .
