Living Purposefully and The Workplace

The level of your self-esteem has a profound impact on every area of your life, including your work. Last week I wrote about one of the pillars of self-esteem: the practice of living purposefully. This week I’m thinking about it specifically in relation to work.

If you are engaged in the practice of living purposefully at work, you are focused on your goals and you organize your behavior around those goals. It also serves as a tool for you to monitor your behavior so that when you get off track, you can get yourself right back on.

Here are some typical responses, from the work of Nathaniel Brandon, to the question, what would change for you if you increased the practice of living purposefully at the workplace:

-I’d want to know the purpose of any meeting or conversation and I’d try to keep on track.

-My work would be more focused on results.

-I’d prioritize my time better.

-I’d tell people when they wandered away from the subject.

-I’d encourage people to stay conscious of their goals and not get distracted.

-I’d stay focused on my job and not get bogged down doing other people’s work.

-I’d look at everything from the perspective of how it affects long term goals.

As we look at these responses, it is obvious how living purposefully contributes to being more effective at work. Are you practicing living purposefully at your workplace?

If you are a manager of others, do you create a culture that supports and encourages the practice of living purposefully? Here are a few steps that you can take:

-Be clear not just on the big picture, but how the employee’s work relates to it.

-Encourage her/him to measure results against goals.

-Make it clear that you expect innovation when necessary to meet goals.

-Regularly and consistently give feedback on progress towards long range goals.

Put the practice of living purposefully into play at your workplace and you will have more self-esteem and better results.