7 Ways To Inject Meaning Into Your Life—Part 8
7 Ways To Inject Meaning Into Your Life—Part 7
April 19, 2022
7 Ways To Inject Meaning Into Your Life—Part 9
April 23, 2022
The occupational hazard for passionate people is a lack of recognition. In the society we live in today, people seldom appreciate work that is full of meaning. They appreciate what’s funny, what’s lewd, what’s sensual, and what comes out of rumours.
For instance, a content creator would spend hours on end generating information that is loaded with meaning, loaded with transformation, and impact. They post their content on social media and virtually ‘nobody’ recognizes it. What goes viral though is content that lacks meaning. Such is the world that we are living in.
We All Need Recognition
This problem is not just bedevilling the content creators and people of passion. It is a mankind problem that our work needs to find meaning. One of the ways that the work finds meaning is when there is recognition of effort expended and that recognition spurs the creator and the passionate worker even more.
“One of the ways that the work finds meaning is when there is recognition of effort expended and that recognition spurs the creator and the passionate worker even more.”
— Lawrence Namale
In injecting meaning in life, we have looked at quite a several ways that you can have that done. The first five ways you can inject meaning into your life have been your prerogative. Nobody is going to do this for you. However, towards the end of this series, we realize that there are two other ways to inject meaning into a life that are not fully up to you.
First the recap
6. Results
Nothing is dehumanizing like not seeing the results of your labour. Results are different from rewards, which we shall cover in the last part of this series. When we are talking about results, we are talking about the transformation that your efforts are causing. We are talking about your impact.
“When you work and cannot own results, you lack meaning in life, and at the end of the day, your motivation and inspiration to work fade. You end up just working for a paycheck and sundown.”
— Lawrence Namale
There is a strong level of ownership with results. This is quite interestingly connected to a life of meaning. When you work and cannot own results, you lack meaning in life, and at the end of the day, your motivation and inspiration to work fade. You end up just working for a paycheck and sundown.
State of Many
Indeed, there are very many people in organizations around the world who are like this. Some bosses do not share the glory of the results that their workers have brought. It is like in the media industry, especially TV. The workers who have come up with a story are paid peanuts as compared to the workers who will show their faces on TV telling the story. There is no ownership of results.
Results and Meaning
If you cannot connect ownership of results to your work, there is a very big problem. This cuts across all the strata of society. Meaning in life must be derived from your work and the results coming out of your efforts. Whether you are employed or not, one of the most potent ways to attach meaning to your life is to own the results of your labour, sweat, blood, and tears.
“Meaning in life must be derived from your work and the results coming out of your efforts. Whether you are employed or not, one of the most potent ways to attach meaning to your life is to own the results of your labour, sweat, blood, and tears.”
— Lawrence Namale
For the people who are not employed and are passionate about what they are doing, the way to inject meaning into your life is to make sure that what you are doing is transformational and impactful. That’s what results are all about.
You see, it is easy to get lost in your passion just because you love what you are doing. Passion is invaluable but at the end of the day, we have to see the results of our daily pursuits. Of course, there are different dimensions of delay in seeing the results of your labour. Maturity varies from one endeavour to another.
Injecting Meaning Through Results
There will be different types of results from different seasons of time. Each time there is a result, there is meaning injected into your pursuit. The more you stay without results in your life coming out of your pursuits, the more you lose meaning and the more you become disillusioned and unfulfilled.
The following are some of the results you can expect. Remember that you might not necessarily be fully in control of the results. You do your part, and you let the universe respond. That’s how you get meaning.
1. Appreciation
It is very refreshing when people recognize what you are doing and verbally appreciate you for your efforts. It somehow adds meaning to life. When someone else can see and acknowledge your efforts, it is kind of like proof of concept that you are on the right track. Again, you are not in control of this. You are in control of your excellence in what you are doing.
Go to Person
Soon enough, you become the virtuoso or the go-to person in your niche. When people what to be trained about purpose, they call for me. When they want to interview someone about that topic, I am called. This adds meaning to my life to know that society looks up to me to add value to life at that level.
3. Transformation
Perhaps the most potent way to add meaning to your life is to observe the change, impact, contribution, and transformation that is happening through your efforts. People read your book and they quit bad habits. They attend your courses and discover their purpose. Whatever the case, when life is transformed because you worked, it is the ultimate testament that there is meaning in your life.
4. Recommendations
When people recognize your work and your value, they go one step further and recommend your work to others. This means that your circle of influence is now growing. There is no better way to be validated about your work and to have meaning injected into it than to be recommended.
5. Quote and Reference
Randomly, you become the reference point for some crucial things in life. You are quoted and sought after on relevant topics that you cover. This means that society is now holding you in high esteem. Of course, this adds a level of meaning to your life when you get to be quoted or reference made to your work
6. Partnerships
Finally, you add meaning to your life when other people of like passion deem it fruitful to unite with you and pursue a common course. Partnerships are extremely critical in life pursuits because there is no human being who is all-sufficient.
Again, if you lack meaning in your life with the efforts that you are doing because there are no results whatsoever, you need to evaluate and decide. Meaning in life is critical to your well-being.
