There is one perspective that has a positive impact on how you show up at work above all others: Remembering what’s bigger than you. Whether you call it Nature, Cosmos, Universe, God, Goddess, Allah, Consciousness, Oneness, or something else, when you orient yourself as part of something bigger than you, it changes a cascade of things inside of you that change your choices and behavior at work.
Being aware of what’s bigger than us can evoke awe, wonder, humility, love, and more. It seems at odds with the “productive work mode” that we have to be in daily. It seems like it has nothing to do with work, but it can profoundly impact how we think about self, life, worth, community, purpose/mission, and work.
This is so important for me personally that it motivates me to be in service every day. I orient myself to what’s vast and sacred every moment, and that single orientation has changed my life in more ways than I can list in a single article, both in and outside of work. Note that I haven’t given up productivity as a trade-off; in fact, it helps me prioritize and focus on what matters most.
What I see most commonly is that my clients might have a natural orientation to something bigger than themselves, but they forget it as soon as they walk through the door to their office (whether at home or in another building). Thousands of clients and almost 18 years into my work as a coach, and I can tell you with certainty that if you remember to bring awareness of the sacred with you into work, you will only benefit.
I want to call out that I’m not talking about the spiritual ego that develops when we identify as a self-proclaimed “good person because I follow religious rules.” If you’re focused on the rules, you’re not focusing on what came before the rules. What I’m advocating for is actively engaging in the awareness, wonder, and awe of being part of something immense.
Remembering that you are part of something bigger (and vast) usually requires daily practice and devoted time, even if brief. Otherwise, we get sucked into work, dramas, problems, task lists, phones, and binge-watching shows; once that happens, our faces are in the pool, and we forget to look at life all around us and remember what’s most important.
So, below I will share with you:
- Five benefits to remembering what’s bigger than you
- Eight possible practices to help you remember.
Benefit 1: It Shrinks Your Ego
In the face of something immense, it’s hard not to be humble. I remember my husband and I standing at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park, looking out over massive granite mountains and a jaw-dropping landscape. My husband said, “Nature is immense; I feel small – in the best way – when I look at this.” We are part of something much greater, much bigger. Plus, you are one of 8 billion people. As soon as you realize there’s more to life and the world than you, your ego stops inflating, and deflates back to a healthy, humble size.
Benefit 2: Helps You See Your Work From a Bigger Perspective
I can’t even count how many times a client has started a session in a panic about whatever drama was happening at work. Focused on the drama, they get caught in an endless negative thought loop. Part of my job, in addition to helping them problem solve, is to remind them of the bigger picture. Every time a client remembers the bigger picture, it reduces the panic and helps them breathe again.
No matter how important your work is day to day or overall, it’s just one tiny piece of the Cosmos and a moment in time. Remembering this gives you space to breathe and view any challenge at work with balance and levity.
Benefit 3: Lowers Your Stress
Yes, your stress reduces when you see your work in a bigger context, but also when you realize that your identity, wellbeing, and survival are part of something larger and you aren’t 100% dependent on work. Our nervous systems, unless instructed otherwise, will turn work-stress molehills into mountains. Orienting to something bigger than you helps calm your nervous system and shrink those stress-inducing mountains back down to molehills.
Benefit 4: Fosters Creativity and Creative Problem Solving
Partially because it creates space in your mind and lowers your stress, orienting towards something bigger can naturally catalyze creativity and creative problem solving. When faced with the mysteries and miracles of life, we engage wonder and curiosity. We take the pressure off of ourselves to know everything all the time. With that pressure reduced (or removed entirely), we are more open to knowing and seeing new possibilities that might have been right in front of us. Wonder and curiosity are vital components of creative thinking.
Benefit 5: Changes Your Sense of Purpose
Remembering what’s bigger than you allows you to think about your career within a much larger context. If your purpose is bigger than just a tiny box of your role at work, what does it mean to you?
Defining your purpose is deeply personal. It doesn’t have to be complicated or grand, though it might be. It can also be simple, as in, “My purpose is to inspire myself and others to be our best selves every day.” Or, you might have something more concrete and ambitious about having a positive impact on some part of the world. Either way, you realize that your purpose is more than one role or task list at one tiny point in time; it’s part of a much bigger ecosystem of life.
Practices for Remembering
It helps to start your day with some kind of practice of remembering what’s larger than you. That could be any number of things, and you can be quite creative about it, but here are just some of the practices that my clients and I engage in:
- Prayer (in any form)
- Gratitude practice from a heart-centered feeling state (not a mental checklist)
- Meditation (in any form)
- Time in nature (sitting, walking, hiking, biking – all good)
- Contemplative or meditative yoga, chi gong, or other movement
- Rituals or religious services
- Chanting or singing sacred songs
- Reading books that speak to what is sacred
What other ways do you remember what’s bigger than you? What helps you remember during or at the end of your day?
Whatever you choose, I hope this article felt validating. Your natural instincts to be in awe and wonder about what’s bigger than you can truly serve you. You get to give yourself this gift! I look forward to hearing how it changes you.
If you would like to work with me and are new to my work, you can start with a free 30-minute intro session to see if my work is a fit for you. Schedule your free 30-minute intro session here.