Do we find meaningful work or is work well done the true source of meaning?
Our fears would try to convince us that we need meaning in our work before we can start. Fear says…”No need to commit yourself if there is no meaning there.” Fear says, “Why waste our time on something unless it feels like it’s the right thing…?”
But this is a trap that harms us in the long run. It shields us from the risk of failure while giving us an excuse for why we didn’t do the work in the first place. It wasn’t meaningful work, so sue me.
Meaning never even had the opportunity to present itself because we didn’t believe it was there.
Actually what we find meaningful comes from doing the work in the first place. Any successful struggle to do the work provides satisfaction. And work done well provides meaning and builds confidence when you have to do it again tomorrow.
The first step on the road to meaning may be the discipline to do the work day after day.