The other day, I was thinking about what advice I’d give to my younger clients as they were thinking about what work they want to do in the world… and at first, I thought of the usual ways people think about it …
When people think about choosing work that’s filled with purpose, they often do it in one of several ways:
- Think about what they like to do. If they enjoy writing or playing video games or doing crafts, they might consider these things. This is not a bad way to go, of course, but you can’t always make money doing things you like (like video games or making scrapbooks). Sometimes, things you like are better as a hobby or side passion.
- Think about what pays enough, what they can do, and that doesn’t sound so bad. Maybe a doctor, engineer, or lawyer? Or maybe that’s out of your educational reach so you choose teacher, office worker, retail worker, or landscape worker. These (and many other possibilities) are all great choices but often it’s not something you’re really passionate about. It’s kind of like just doing something because it’s there — not very inspiring.
- You’re already doing it. If you somehow got a job to make money but didn’t do it that consciously, because you had no idea what you wanted to do … you might still be doing that years later. It’s your default mode, so you keep doing it. That’s not super inspired either, because often you’re just clocking in and clocking out.
So these common ways are not terrible ways to choose a career … but there’s another way that is (perhaps) better:
Try to do something to help others or make the world better, that you might enjoy.
Before you move on, consider the possibilities of serving others or making the world a better place:
- Volunteering to help the elderly, the homeless, underprivileged children, disaster relief, building homes for the homeless, taking care of animals, etc.
- Becoming a doctor or nurse or massage therapist or occupational or physical therapist or fitness trainer because you really want to help people heal or give them tools to be healthy.
- Taking care of children, teaching or studying child counseling, because you really want to help children get a great start in life or blossom into who they want to become.
- Becoming an entrepreneur or learning to program and then starting an app company that will change the world in a better way.
- Getting into government or social work to improve the conditions of the community you live in.
- Writing or coaching or teaching people online to help them solve their problems, and improve their lives.
- Making fun spaces, restaurants, activities, and hikes, so that people can find joy in their lives.
- Becoming a yoga or meditation teacher so people can find peace in their lives.
- Becoming a scientist or a researcher to help alleviate the environmental crisis or find a cure for a terrible disease.
This list can go on and on and definitely isn’t meant to be “all-inclusive.” Each of these is just one of many possibilities to make someone’s life better, serve the community, or make the world better. Each of them is filled with purpose and if you choose one of them for that purpose then you will serve in that work feeling a sense of purpose each day.
There are endless ways to do that, of course — you could be a manager that serves a team, a customer service representative that puts smiles on people’s faces, a web designer that helps businesses shine online, or the founder of a non-profit that brings opportunities to the community or an engineer who develops apps for micro-loans and so forth. The point isn’t how you serve the world but to serve the world in some way will help you feel filled with purpose.
If you choose a purposeful career that also seems fun and that seems enjoyable to you, then you’re way further along than most people.
It doesn’t have to be a typical career, either. You can volunteer or create something that doesn’t exist in your area (a place for peace and relaxation, a place for adults to play, a place for animal lovers to connect to each other). You could connect with other people of similar interests and make their lives better through connection and community. These don’t seem like typical careers, but I bet you that if you served people in these (and other) ways, you’ll find a career that feels purposeful. Having a purposeful career can also be a career where you feel as though you would do the work whether it paid you or not. But this doesn’t have to be an “either-or” situation. It is possible to find a way to serve and bring purpose to your life and to others while earning a living. It’s possible it can take a while to actually make a solid living doing it, but it will very likely happen. But, as you know, there are no guarantees in life. All we can do is work hard to serve others in a way that brings purpose and meaning to our lives and hopefully we receive something in kind in return. And even if it doesn’t, you’ll still know that you served people in a way that left the world a better place.