The Bigger Picture
Unhappy people in our society are a huge problem. The Conference Board of Canada reports that one of the key economic challenges for Canada is improving labour productivity. Canada remains at the back of the class on this critical indicator, ranking 12th among 17 peer countries. Of 21 indicators that are scored and measured the lowest scores underline Canada’s relative weakness in all three categories of the innovation process—creation, diffusion, and transformation.
Why dwell on labour productivity? Labour productivity can be a confusing concept to grasp. It’s not about working harder, longer hours. It’s about working smarter and getting more for less—more output per unit of input, which is usually hours worked.
“Labour productivity is the key determinant of standard of living, or GDP per capita, over the longer term. Low productivity in Canada is a huge challenge to future prosperity—especially given the country’s aging population. As the baby boomers retire and the demographic structure continues to shift, Canada will have to rely on labour productivity to boost incomes.” (Conference board)
Perhaps the problem of current poor productivity can be explained in part, by the fact that a large majority of workers are in jobs they aren’t passionate about, not really committed to, don’t allow them to express their creative strengths, or have no connection whatsoever to their WHY. The impact on overall productivity cannot be underestimated.
Let’s be clear here – companies, employers and organizations may recruit you and claim that their people are their greatest asset, and they are being genuine. But organizations don’t care primarily about you and your life’s purpose or passions. The organization cares about its performance, getting a job done, providing for and serving its customers, making a profit or serving a mission. The organization is not there to help you identify your strengths and make sure you are using them. You are a means to an end; to good performance for the organization. They will know what you get done, but not necessarily what your passions and talents are. They look at the job that needs to get done and fit you into it. Again, this isn’t wrong but you can begin to see how you and others can end up in a job you may have no affinity for, any desire to do, let alone feel energized by, and excited to get to work and contribute to. This is how we end up with the low productivity of workers today. The costs are tremendous, both human and financial.
Clearly, taking responsibility for our own happiness, becoming more self-aware about our passions, desires and strengths is the key to our success. What is your WHY?
Knowing Your Purpose
Do you know what makes you happy, what brings you joy? It is often said that people can certainly tell you what they DON’T want or what they DON’T like or what they DON’T want to happen, and yet they have never taken the time to define, and describe what it is they DO like, and going a bit beyond that, what they REALLY want in their life. Finding out your WHY will take you on a journey of ever increasing awareness – self-awareness, new possibilities and great joy!
Deepak Chopra (1994) teaches the Law of Dharma or Purpose in Life which says that we are spiritual beings who have taken on a physical form to fulfill a purpose. We all have a purpose in life, some unique talents, gifts or skills. When we use our talents and skills in service to others we experience the ecstasy and joy of our spirit.
There are three parts to the Law of Dharma. The first part says that each of us is here to discover our true self, and find out that we are spiritual beings. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a visionary French Jesuit said “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but spiritual beings having a human experience”. The second part says that we each have a unique talent that we are here to express. This talent of ours is so unique that no one else has it in the same way that we do. It is when we are using our talents that we are truly happy, and often lose all track of time. The third part of the Law of Dharma says that we are here to serve our fellow human beings with our talent. Therefore it is by recognizing our spiritual nature combined with using our talents in service to our fellowman which gives us unlimited abundance in our lives.
Marcus Buckingham (2008) offers some strategic direction on where to begin to uncover what our purpose is. He suggests “start by taking your interests seriously”. We may have been raised to believe that other people know us better than ourselves, and we get advice and suggestions from our parents, teachers, religious leaders, and others on what to do with our lives. The truth is that we are the greatest teacher about ourselves and our strengths.
Paying attention to your interests will begin to get you on the path to discovering your strengths but there is so much more to you than your interests. If you want to uncover and live your strengths you have to be able to describe them – know your why – and most people struggle with this. Have you ever been in a job interview and been asked ‘what are your strengths’? What did you say? If your response was something like ‘I like working with people’ you have given a very general comment that doesn’t really say much about what it is you like doing with people.
This is not easy work but will be the most worthwhile step you will ever take in your life.