- By Patricia Brown, Integrated Business Ventures
- Business Notes
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Is it important for you to be inspired in your work? Whether one finds great meaning in one’s work, or one works to provide creature comforts for ones’ family and oneself, or both, work itself is a paramount force in the lives of most Americans. Statistics abound documenting the dramatic increase in number of days on the job for Americans workers over not only the past several decades, but even over the past ten years. Eight years ago my partner Michael gave me a book to read that literally spoke directly to my lifelong desire to make a difference in the world through my work. It was Matthew Fox’s 'The Reinvention of Work,' which celebrates work as a spiritual path. I recently learned a great word for being inspired, or “spoken to” through books – “bibliomancy.”
In what ways are you inspired? Do you look for inspiration? How are you informed? Synchronicities, dreams, events?
My friend Mary Boardman gleans great insight from Steven Covey. So many people who live in this glorious region find themselves awed simply by walking outside their homes into Nature. I spoke with a CTO of a local firm earlier this week who needs the challenge of complex problems to feel fulfilled in his work. A couple of weeks ago I had dinner with a neighbor who says she likes her job because in doing it, she doesn’t have to think. To each her own!
Do you need to feel that you make a difference in the lives of others through your work? For many of our clients over the years, who owned their own businesses, what mattered most was the legacy they created through their business - especially the ability to provide jobs for people in their communities.
If you’re feeling constant stress from being overworked, from having unreasonable performance expectations, or from the fear of losing your job or your business, what are you doing to change either the situation or how you feel about it? Do you have a spiritual practice that helps you detach from those stressful thoughts and feelings?
One thing is for sure for most of us – we must work! Whether it’s to put food on the table, to put our kids through school, or for our personal enlightenment, work is an inevitable part of most Americans’ lives. Each of us has the ability to use our work to best serve our personal desires. Whether for spiritual fulfillment or for simple escape from negative thoughts, we have several hours a day at work to use how we wish. It really is your choice – we may or may not be doing what we most desire, but we all may choose how we do our work – with what attitude and energy we invest the one-third of each day we spend at work.
Patricia Brown is a partner in Integrated Business Ventures ,
which specializes in assisting business owners with significant transitions.
which specializes in assisting business owners with significant transitions.
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