Does work give you meaning or is it just something you do

Does work give you meaning, or is it just something you do?

#question #newsletter #tvz #fleeting

An important question arose during the darkest parts of the pandemic for many people I’ve coached and spoken with.

Is this job really how I want to spend most of my time?

If there’s one thing that the disruption of the pandemic has given us, it’s a chance to examine what’s important right now.

We’ve gotten to experience what working from home is like. And while many people miss the tranquility that a proper office environment provides, others have flourished in a situation where they get to create their schedule and get groceries in the middle of the day if they feel like it.

And then there’s the Great Resignation. Or the Great Reshuffle. Or quiet quitting. No matter how we re-frame it, everyone seems to be transitioning, pivoting, or moving toward something new. Like a new job or a new business. A new life.

The Great…well, whatever you want to call it… is just a symptom of a collective moment in time. A moment where we are just starting to confront the existential nature of time and the fact that we all have a finite (and unknown) amount of it left.

It’s downright spiritual.

So many cultures and spiritual practices have a built-in way of dealing with this existential grief.

The stoics call it memento mori, which is the useful daily note-to-self about our limited time left.

The yogis practice Shavasana at the end of a session. They lie flat on the floor and close their eyes. It’s not meant to be a time for a nap; it’s a time to practice for death.

So consider this email your memento mori or your Shavasana for today.

You have limited time left in this life.

And you have unlimited possibilities for how you might spend that time.

What comes up?

What’s next?

Write me back.

Love, Zia