“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” – Viktor Frankl
I found myself in a long slack dialogue today that resulted in a zoom call with a friend and colleague Viktor. I relish the opportunity to explore ideas with him as I tend to think and learn more than usual and ultimately challenge my cognitive biases and the stories I tell myself.
The dialogue centered around the idea of purpose.
One of his assertions was that investment banking and trading don't have an inherent purpose. He based that assertion on the sampling of friends who are traders all of which can't wait to retire to do what is more purposeful and meaningful. I contend that this holds for most people, not just investment bankers and points to a bigger issue: a lack of dialogue on the idea or purpose.
After going down multiple rabbit holes, we landed on some common ground. Firstly, we are encoded to search for purpose. We either get it from religion, tribe, or society. If not, we continue our search. Second, most people tell themselves a story about how they define their purpose at work. Stories that usually go unchecked and are fiercely protected:
“My purpose is to end suffering in product development”
“My purpose is to earn a paycheck so I can do the things I like to do”
“My purpose is to ignite some passion with those I work with”
“My purpose is to heal the sick”
Why does purpose even matter?
According to Dan Pink’s popular thesis, purpose is a key component for people to do their best work. Along with autonomy and mastery, purpose is a required ingredient to achieve intrinsic motivation.
Most leaders think about how they can create an environment that creates purpose. While necessary, it's not sufficient. Purpose needs to be top-down and bottom-up as beautifully illustrated in Christopher Wren’s story of the three bricklayers.
It’s your job
Purpose (noun): why you do something or why something exists
Finding purpose starts with asking the hard questions: What is my higher purpose? How do I align with my higher purpose? Does my job align with my purpose? How can I find purpose in what I do?
Tim Born, a coach, and a mentor recently told me that he finds purpose in teaching. Whether it's Unix command line or teaching youngsters about compound interest, he is always teaching. If you meet him, his passion comes through whether he is talking about Kubernetes or grouse hunting. He is not waiting for management to manufacture a purpose for himself.
“To forget one’s purpose is the commonest form of stupidity.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
But it all starts with having a dialogue with your inner Viktor.