Putting It All Together

After having considered my Workview and Lifeview, the authors of Designing Your Life recommend evaluating how the two views work together and how they might not. If you missed those posts, you can find them here: Workview and Lifeview. They mention that this final step is arguably the most important, the one where practitioners have that “aha” moment. Since I’ve spent the last two posts working on my views, I figured I would compare them in this third post.

Just like with the Workview and Lifeview, the authors provide some questions to guide this practice. There aren’t as many this time, but I found the process to involve more introspection. In addition to the questions below, I summarized my views into minimalist bullet points to help give a basis to which I could compare. The suggested questions to compare views are as follows: 

Where do your views on work and life complement one another?

Where do they clash?

Does one drive the other? How?

In addition to these questions, here is how I simplified my views:

Workview:

I want to do something as a routine, keeping busy.

I want to do something for work that contributes to community.

I want to improve people’s lives through and at work. I enjoy making friends at work and making those around me laugh.

I want to make a lot of money to live comfortably, but that shouldn’t necessarily be the primary focus.

I want to grow and experience new things. Stagnation is bad for me.

Lifeview:

We are here because of what came before us.

My purpose relates to helping those around me.

I think a person should be involved in their greater community; connections are important.

We should do good for the people in our lives.

Good involves helping others; evil involves isolation and separation.

We should help and care for those around us.

Emotions, both good and bad, help us experience the world around us.

Where Do My Views Complement Each Other?

Looking at both my Workview and Lifeview, there seems to be more in common than not. I’m not sure if this is unexpected, but it is reassuring. A common theme that appears in both views is a sense of community. In my work, I want to contribute positively to my coworkers and the world around me – I don’t want to work for Evil Incorporated. In my life, I think it’s incredibly important to be involved in a community. This doesn’t have to be fully physical. I can and should keep up with friends and family farther away, but the involvement in community is important. This exercise is a nice reminder that even if I’m not exactly where I want to be, I can achieve my views in my day-to-day life.

Where Do My Views Clash?

I’m not sure my views inherently clash against each other; however, they differ regarding action and being. I look at work as an act. I mention wanting to do something to keep busy, to grow, and to experience new things. On the other hand, my Lifeview involves accepting where we are to become better. I don’t think work should be the only source of action in one’s life, but I think it can play a major role. The Workview, naturally, involves money too, which is a component missing entirely from the Lifeview. Work can feed into purpose in some regards while also allowing one to put the proverbial bread on the table. 

Does One Drive the Other?

My views on work and life surely relate to each other. If I had to put a direction on how the views interact, I would say that my Workview feeds into my Lifeview. My Workview enables me to contribute and experience community while also making some money. Work alone, though, doesn’t have to be my only source of community or purpose. Perhaps I can leverage what I do for work to motivate myself to continue my involvement outside of the office. If I feel like I’m not fulfilling a purpose via work, this is also a good reminder that I am making more progress than I think. My Workview may not fully cover my Lifeview, but it can contribute to it significantly. 

Putting It All Together

I have now completed the Workview and Lifeview exercise from Designing Your Life. This final exercise did give me some good insights. I’m surprised at how cohesive my two views are. Prior to this exercise, I had a hunch at how important community was to me, but this exercise confirmed that it is central to my current being. I will have to consider ways to apply this information, but the exercise gives me a starting place and a compass by which I can guide myself. It’s also a nice reminder that when I feel lost, I’m not so far off the trail as I might think.

If you found this post interesting, please consider subscribing so that the next post gets delivered straight to your inbox!