Jim Koerner found his work challenging at first. He was delighted for the paycheck that supported his new family.  He went to work with real motivation.  With his above-average motivation Jim was an above average performer. He was rewarded as an above-average performer.  Over time as his family grew, he felt the need for more still money.  The old job was becoming old hat.  It was no longer the challenge it once was.  He needed a change

His next job was great at first.  The newness gave Jim a significant challenge and the bigger paycheck was very satisfying to him.  But as the years wore on, this job also seemed to lack meaning.  He told a friend, “My work doesn’t have as much meaning as it once did.  I feel like where my inner fulfillment should be, there is a hole. My motivation is way down.”

The friend said, “I can’t give you an immediate answer, but I can suggest someone that can.  I have this great coach.  The company hired him to help me be more effective.  But he does so much more.  When I shared with him a problem like you have, he shared with me the one critical element to increasing my inner fulfillment.  Today I see more meaning in my work, and I’m more motivated than I ever was.  My coach has the ability to ask questions so he will help you discover the answer to your problem within your own experience.” Jim took his friend up on the suggestion and made an appointment with the coach.

The Right Questions To Ask
After Jim explained his situation, Coach said, “From my experience when people are missing inner fulfillment, motivation and meaning in their work it usually points to one simple critical thing.  Mind if I ask you a couple questions to see if this is true in your situation?”  Jim agreed. Coach asked Jim the following questions:

When you say you have a hole where your inter fulfillment should be, what do you mean by inner fulfillment?

Do you know where the meaning and motivation in your actions and life come from?

Do you know how to optimize or make the meaning and motivation in your life as great as possible?

Jim looked at Coach and said honestly, “I’m not sure of the answers to any of those questions.  If  I want to optimize my inner fulfillment, I need to know what it is and where it comes from.  Can you help me get started by figuring out what is inner fulfillment?”

What is Inner Fulfillment?
Coach said, “I had a group of company presidents who also wanted to know the definition of inner fulfillment.  We did research with 150 of their fellow presidents and their significant others.  We found that inner fulfillment is:

Being active,
Doing meaningful things,
Both with a sense of progress.

“So Jim, which of those three do you think is the key or the most challenging?”

Jim replied, “Anyone can be active.  In my present job, I’m very active even when I’m not motivated.  And anyone can experience a sense of progress if you work at something long enough.  For me, the challenge is doing meaningful things.”

Where Does The Meaning of an Action Come From?
Coach seemed delighted.  “Jim, you hit the nail on the head.  The next part of your challenge is deciding where the meaning of your action, and therefore your life, comes from.  I will give you three situations.  Then, I want you to tell me where the meanings of your actions come from and how to make the meaning of an action as great as possible.”

“Situation One: Suppose I go to the light switch and turn off the lights in here.  Would this be very memorable, meaningful or emotional for you?”

Jim thought a minute. “I might wonder what you are doing.  We would still have some light from the window.  It would not be very emotional.”

“Good!” Coach said.  “Situation Two: You receive a call from the President.  He asks you and your wife to come to the White House on December 5.  He says for all your work on his campaign, he would like you or your wife to flip the switch that illuminates the Christmas Tree on the White House lawn.  You go, and your wife flips the switch.  Would that event be very memorable, meaningful or emotional for you?”

Jim smiled at the thought. “We would probably never forget it.  Yes to memorable, meaningful and emotional.”

“Situation Three,” Coach said smiling with Jim’s correct answers.  “A nurse kills 21 old folks in a rest home.  One was your mother.  You are invited to flip the executioner switch on the electric chair.  You are so angry, you accept.  Would flipping that switch be memorable, meaningful or emotional?”

Jim made a face and said, “It would certainly be all three.  I don’t know how I would feel.”

Coach continued, “We have three situations where the action is identical, flipping a switch.  However, the meaning and emotional influence on the doer is tremendously different.  So were does the meaning of our action come from?”

Coach’s questions led Jim to the following insight, “It is pretty easy to see the meaning and emotional influence of our actions come from the reasons or purpose why they are done.”

Jim’s Insight Applied to Work
Coach pointed out to Jim that the bigger his purpose for working, the more value in the purpose to give the individual action and your life meaning.  Consider the following.

Figure 1

Small Meaning

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Figure 1, the value of what this person wants, i.e. his purpose, is small, possibly limited to himself. The possible meaning of his actions and therefore his life is limited by his own small value and purpose.

Small value and purpose = small meaning

 

Figure 2

Large Meaning

 

 

 

 

In Figure 2, this person wants valuable things for himself as well as for others.  This person’s purpose is larger than self.  Because of the larger value of what he wants and works for, his successes have much more meaning and do not suffer from the limits of the person in Figure 1.

Larger Value and Purpose= Larger Meaning