Yonette Thomas
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September 1, 2023
If you find yourself overwhelmed by a feeling of dread upon waking in the morning, it’s an unmistakable sign of a problem. But even if dread is too harsh a word to describe the start of the daily grind, chances are high that your work life is unfulfilling, and it’s time to find your flow.
A 2018 Gallup poll found that the percentage of engaged and enthusiastic U.S. workers hit 34% – a tie for the highest level since 2000. However, between September 2019 and March 2021, Gallup found that the share of actively disengaged workers grew from 69% to 74%. It’s a grim statistic given that less engaged workers don’t perform as well, and the lack of satisfaction often seeps into other areas of life. So it should come as no surprise that 48% of the American workforce is actively looking for other jobs, according to a 2021 Gallup poll.
While there are remedies managers can apply to enhance the quality of workplaces, the decisions to make positive changes are usually out of workers’ control. But sometimes, the issue is that people wind up in the wrong careers entirely. It’s easy to succumb to external pressures to live up to other’s expectations about how much money, status and material possessions one should have. Planning life around the specter of the rare cocktail party where the inevitable question, “what do you do for a living?” is posed, is guaranteed to result in unhappiness.
A better approach is to follow the advice of Plato and know thyself.
First, discover what holds your attention, what motivates you, what your talents are and then devote time developing the relevant skills and knowledge. It’s not easy, but essential as people spend about one-third of their lives working on average.
Psychologist Mihály’s Csíkszentmihályi spent his own life studying what causes happiness and determined that the state of flow is the prime ingredient. Such a state isn’t achieved by sipping a mojito on an Antiguan beach but rather arises when one is wholly absorbed in an intrinsically motivating activity, offering challenges on par with one’s skill level.
Csíkszentmihályi characterizes the flow state as complete mental immersion in which ordinary concerns about the passage of time, physical needs, desires and ego are temporarily suspended. The flow state speaks to the expression that time flies when you’re having fun. Its promise lies in the idea that flow deepens as one’s skill level increases and the challenges heighten. In other words, once you find the work you love, keep honing the talent, and the rewards will keep coming.
Finding flow in work is its own challenge. A job might present opportunities for such immersive positive experiences but not necessarily pay a livable wage. Also, some occupations are more conducive to flow experiences than others, partly because one facet of flow is prompt feedback, Mihály says. For example, surgeons can easily experience flow because their work is inherently challenging and meaningful, requires the utmost concentration and produces positive feedback when the patient survives the procedure and subsequently recovers. Conversely, some lawyers spend their workdays scrutinizing scores of pages filled with tedious legal jargon, sometimes in the pursuit of nebulous ends. The reality is not everyone can be a neurosurgeon or an opera house cellist, nor would everyone want to be, and complex societies need lawyers. However, even a budget analyst can find flow if they can find meaning in their work, set tiered goals and lose themselves in the numbers.
The trick is to find what makes you as an individual tick and to turn livelihood into art. Your employer or clients may have their objectives, but you should also have your own. Beyond the monetary returns, what do you want to accomplish over the next week, month and year? How will you get there?
Devise a plan, make it specific, eliminate unnecessary distractions, dive into something meaningful and stay focused. Then, get in the groove, chart your progress and reap the benefits.
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Did you know?
About 42 percent of Americans have had a “career lightbulb” during the pandemic, according to a OnePoll survey commissioned by the Universal Technical Institute. In addition, a special report from the McKinsey Global Institute forecasts that over 100 million people worldwide, or 1 in 16, will need a different occupation by 2030. This represents a 12 percent uptick from pre-pandemic estimates.
The Universal Technical Institute says that the threats resulting from the pandemic have “reinvigorated people toward pursuing a career that is more fulfilling than their current one.” This time of uncertainty is a time of opportunity for professionals at all stages of their careers who are open to fresh career and professional experiences. People are asking themselves fundamental questions about leveraging their current professional status into what gives them the deepest sense of fulfillment and alignment with their core values.
About the Author
Dr. Yonette Thomas is a thought leader, committed mentor, and amplifier of professional paths. She created Strategic Transitions to share her leadership and professional insights with early career, mid-career, and senior-career individuals needing a hand-up, a strategy conversation, or a path amplifier.