Purpose

While I am sure this happens in many organizations, I have found teachers in some big public-school systems get lost in their daily struggle.  The faculty room discussions can be about discipline, technology or returning e-mails which tend to numb us to the real purpose of our work.  When teachers lose purpose (as with any person) it can cause you to go from being a great performer to a mediocre one.

Morton Hansen more here explored the difference between passion and purpose.  Passion is defined as a feeling of excitement and enthusiasm that you have for your work.  Purpose is defined as the sense that you are contributing to others, that your work has broader meaning.  Hansen was curious which would have a greater effect on job performance.

What he found is that people who were low on both found themselves in the bottom 10% of workers.  It would also make sense that people with both passion and purpose found themselves in the top 20% of workers.  What was shocking to me was that people who were passionate about their jobs but had low purpose were still low performers (bottom 20%).  When he looked at people with high purpose and low passion they were strong achievers.

Why?  Passion can be an individual thing which does not necessarily bring people together.  Purpose is something that often brings people together.  It is more of a team feeling that brings unity to the task.

So how do you find your purpose?  I do not think purpose is something that you find but instead it is something that needs to be cultivated.  Think about your core values, what is important to you will often lead you to your purpose.  How can you share your talents and passions with others?  As teachers, mentors, and friends we need to cultivate purpose in both ourselves and others.

As you start to define your purpose it can help organize and motivate you.  When making decisions or setting goals, you should ask yourself why you are doing these tasks.  If after continually asking why does not get you to your purpose you need to drop that task from your things to do list and focus on things that help you achieve your purpose.  So when someone wants to discuss the discipline problem at your school, while this might be an important issue, if it does not get you to your purpose than you can walk away from that discussion which allows you to keep on laser focus on your purpose.

I will leave you with this great two minute video by Angela Duckworth to sum up todays discussion video.

As always, I would love your feedback.