How to Find Fulfilling Work

The idea that work might be fulfilling rather than just painfully necessary is a strikingly recent invention. Open Dr. Johnson's celebrated dictionary, published in 1755, and the word "fulfillment" doesn't even appear. Nowadays, in the prosperous world, we don't only expect to obtain money through our labor; we also, to a greater or lesser extent, expect to find meaning and satisfaction. It's a big ask and helps to explain why so many of us have career crises, often on a Sunday evening as the sun begins to set. To help us on the quest for fulfilling work, here are six useful ideas: Firstly, accept that being confused about careers is perfectly normal. In the pre-industrial world, there were at most some 2,000 different trades out there. Nowadays, there are estimated to be half a million different options. The result? We can become so anxious about making the wrong choice that we end up making no choice at all. Psychologists call this the paradox of choice—paralysis stemming from too many options. We should acknowledge that confusion is natural and fear entirely normal, but let neither of these scupper our chances forever. Secondly, know yourself. It's the oldest philosophical recommendation and is of particular relevance to careers. For 99% of us, knowing what we want to do doesn't arise spontaneously, like, for example, knowing what to eat. Most of us don't have a calling; we don't hear a commanding, god-like voice directing us to accountancy or packaging and distribution. That isn't to say we don't have tastes or inclinations; we just don't know them clearly enough, which is a perilous position to be in, as not having a plan quickly puts us at the mercy of those who do have one. We only catch glimpses, little hints of our tastes. So what we have to do is learn to pick up on their faint sounds. Start by parking any concerns for money for a time. Financial panic too often kills all dialogue with the more authentic, passionate sides of one's nature. Write down, without being too logical or analytical about it, everything you've ever enjoyed doing or making, which might include building a treehouse or sorting out the winter clothes. The weirder and more offbeat the list, the better. In the long and confused tangle that follows, there will, somewhere, be the shape of an ideal, future, working self. But it'll be very messed up and in need of being analyzed thoroughly. That's where philosophy comes in. Philosophy is the art of clearing up and demanding logic of our first thoughts. Thirdly, think a lot. If it might take a couple of days, even a week, to choose a new car, it could fairly take a year or more of sustained daily reflection to start to identify a career that fits. We tend to feel guilty about this, imagining we're being self-indulgent. Far from it. We may need to empty every weekend for months to sort out the biggest conundrum of our lives. To make sure we don't continue to spend the rest of our lives trapped in a job unwittingly chosen for us by our unknowing, 16-year-old selves, we need to be properly generous about the amount of time we'll spend.