Career Criteria: The Trinity of Needs

"Measure any potential career against three essential key criteria:


Do I find the work satisfying?
Can I make good money?
Does it provide a useful service?


These questions point to the three essential components of a fulfilling work life.  Two out of the three may seem sufficient for a while, but all three elements are usually required in a satisfying long-term career.  And the lack of one or more of these three basic elements is the primary cause of dissatisfaction and complaints in the workplace."

- from The Four Purposes of Life, by Dan Millman

Compare and contrast this to Dan Pink's 3 essential aspects to be engaged at work in Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us:  

1. Autonomy
2. Mastery
3. Purpose

Coaching Challenge: Consider these combined 6 criteria when making a career choice to be both fulfilled and fully engaged. 

Two Secrets of Success for the Self-Employed

1. Be good at what you do.

2. Be good at promoting what you do (or hire someone who will do that for you).

- from The Four Purposes of Life, by Dan Millman

Finding Flow

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has written a few books on the topic of "Flow".  While I found one of his books to be academic and a difficult read, "Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement with Everyday Life" is much more engaging.

Flow is a mental state where a person is fully immersed in an activity, feeling fully involved, a sense of energized focus.  It's a state where time passes by without even noticing it.  I've experienced Flow when  I coach a client, play the piano, or race a sailboat, or write an article or report.

The biggest takeaway from this books is that optimal experience, or Flow, occurs when two variables are high:  Challenge Level and Skill Level.  This chart depicts this through illustrates the quality of experiences as a function of the relationship between challenges and skills:

Over a week period, notice when you feel this different states, and see how true it is for you.  Notice when you feel a state of Flow in your life, and create opportunities to experience this more in your life.  And if you feel you don't experience Flow, consider what you're skilled at that you enjoy doing, and amp it up so that you're challenged.

I'd love to hear your experiences with flow.  Post a comment and share your experience!

Bad Bosses

Bad managers are a huge problem in workplaces, resulting in negative consequences on employee morale and engagement. 

A survey recently conducted by the Human Resources Professionals Association (HRPA) found 73% of HR professionals believe that managers who bully, speak inapppropriately to staff, or are disrespectful are "a significant problem in today's workplace." 

The HRPA's director of HR excellence says: "There are managers who are poorly trained or promoted to management for the wrong reasons." 

What can you do if you have a bad boss?  Check out my article "Top Three Bad Boss Behaviours and What You Can Do About It" on ezineArticles.