Season 6 Episode 94
Listen to this episode to find out how you can get more meaning and higher satisfaction out of life by filling your contribution bucket and doing what matters.
Show Notes:
Episode Summary:
Do you ever feel like you’re going through the motions and it all seems purposeless? You work hard, but does it even matter?
You might be missing an important aspect of happiness and life satisfaction- you’re not filling your contribution bucket. You might be missing out on the feeling that your life makes sense and that your contributions matter both to yourself and to others. It’s also knowing that you are pursuing and fulfilling your goals.
In order to create your best life, you need to do what matters. In this episode we’re going to explore purpose and meaning and we’ll share one simple strategy to help incorporate what matters most into your life.
In this episode:
These show notes are an outline, not a word-by-word script. We often talk back and forth and give examples. For the best experience, we suggest listening to the podcast. It’s more fun!
Introduction:
This episode is the fourth episode in our series Create Your Best Life based on the work of Jonathan Fields in his book How to Live a Good Life. Of course, we’ve added our own spin and our own strategies.
In the episode 91, Create Your Best Life we talked about living on autopilot, putting your dreams and goals on the back burner just so you can survive the everyday expectations that are put on you. We talked about three buckets the we need to fill in order to live a good life: the vitality bucket, the connections bucket, and the contributions bucket.
In episode 92 we talked about vitality and ways you can bring more energy into your world and we started the Daily Joy Project.
In the last episode, #93 we discussed the importance of connections and how the right connections can make you feel more alive.
Today, we are tackling the last of the three buckets- the contribution bucket.
The Contribution Bucket
Every day we are bombarded with things to do, people to respond to, people to help, and daily tasks that need to be done. We are constantly faced with choices about how we spend our time.
How do we make choices about how we spend our time?
Sometimes it is by default- we just do whatever is in front of us at the moment. We are running on autopilot. Sometimes others tell us what to do. And sometimes we get to choose.
There is an old saying that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. It is fine to have goals and plans and dreams, but what if we never get to them?
What if we never get to do the things that light us up? The things that make us feel electric and alive? The things that we get so immersed in that we lose track of time? The things that allow us to feel like we are using the best of ourselves- our interests, talents, skills and wisdom?
These are the things that make us feel that we are making a difference and that we matter. We’re making a contribution to something that is fulfilling and contributing to our sense of self- satisfaction and is equally contributing to something bigger than ourselves.
We’ve all felt those moments where we feel like we are lit up. It is, not to be too cheesy, it’s electrifying.
Who doesn’t want more of that feeling in their lives? This is the power of contributions.
How does this connect to teaching?
Many teachers feel boredom, apathy, exhaustion, lost joy, overall sense of disillusionment, burn-out, and stress. You might not be connecting to your connections bucket.
One solution is to reconnect with what matters.
We often reference this quote, and it fits in well here. It is from author and speaker Alexander den Heijer:
“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
We’ve often skipped the things we love, the things that make us joyful and the things we get immersed in. When we do that day after day, for weeks, and months, and years, we’re losing part of ourselves- the part that is connected to something that matters to us.
Daniel Pink, in his book Drive talks about the importance of autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
Autonomy is being able to make our own decisions. Mastery is the desire to get better and better at something we intrinsically enjoy. Purpose is something that we find deeply important.
All of these things are connected to our contribution bucket.
Pink says that “ the most deeply motivated people- not to mention those who are most productive and satisfied- hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves.”
Passion and Purpose
People are often told to find their passion or purpose. That’s intimidating. You might not have one lifetime passion. You might not know your purpose. You might be passionate about many things or find purpose in many different things.
You may not have to find your passion or purpose. Finding the meaning in your life might just mean that you have to look for meaning that is already there.
In his book How to Live a Good Life, Jonathan Fields suggests asking yourself questions.
What are you interested in or curious about?
What fascinates You?
What do you love to do just because?
What do you want to achieve for no other reason that you just want it?
If you don’t know what you are passionately interested in, ask this. What do you love to immerse yourself in? What would you love to master? What service do you want to bring to the world or what do you have to offer the world?
We all have gifts and contributions to share.
How do you fill your contribution bucket?
If you aren’t loving your work or life, you need to find a spark. That means finding a way to shake things up.
Author and high-performance coach Brendon Burchard says, “If you’re going through the motions, you’re going through someone else’s agenda.” That hurts! We don’t want our lives to be controlled by someone else’s agenda.
How do you shake things up? Here’s the activity:
Ask yourself this one question:
What brings you joy, excitement, energy and enthusiasm?
- Take three minutes and do some speed writing. Set a timer on your phone. Just write whatever comes to your mind without filtering it. Just keep going until the timer stops. Write everything. Don’t censor or edit anything. Just keep writing.
- Which things on your list are you doing regularly?
- How could you do more of what brings you joy at work? At home? In your community?
Now that you know what brings you joy, excitement, energy and enthusiasm, what can you do to get more of that?
Examples of Filling Your Contribution Bucket
You love music, but don’t have time to join a band or choir or musical theater group. You could play your piano at home for five or ten minutes every day, even if you just play one piece. You could sing with your students or help them write funny songs that connect to the curriculum. You could turn off the news and listen to your favorite artists on your drive to school. Something is better than nothing.
Michele: I have been in community bands and choirs and used to be very involved in community theater. I don’t have time for any of those things right now. What I do prioritize is to attend musical performances as often as I can, sometimes it is a local theater group, sometimes a national Broadway touring group, and sometimes it is even attending shows on Broadway. That helps me fill my bucket, and it fills a need in the community for people who attend and support the arts. The arts are often hurting financially. I can help by attending shows. Win/win!
We know a teacher who is passionate about growing organic food to feed her family. It was an easy decision for her to get involved with the school’s garden. She also taught a plants and gardening unit with her students. Eventually she started a community garden. It hardly feels like work to her, because she is knowledgeable and loves what she is doing.
Paula: One way I like to contribute is to be on boards. I like the leadership aspect and have good strategic thinking skills. I am on the board of a group I am passionate about and I love their mission so I’m a volunteer on their board. I can’t always do all the volunteer opportunities they offer, but I can serve on the board.
The same with my kids school. I can’t volunteer as much as I’d like, but I can be on the School Improvement Council. I know a lot about education, so I can contribute. I can’t volunteer at events as much as I’d like, but I can still have a contribution. It feels good.
Our podcast is also an example of a contribution. We do this work because we believe it matters. We get to use our knowledge, experience and wisdom to support teachers. Teachers are also our people, which brings us deep connection. We also get energy and excitement from this work- which builds our vitality. We can contribute to this field that we love.
You might want to think about how you could contribute. Maybe you start a book club after school, or an after school exercise group, or do yoga in your classroom. Find a way to connect to and use your passions.
Real happiness comes not just from choosing to live a happy or meaningful life, but from finding things that make you happy and feel meaningful to you and then doing them.
Conclusion:
We are on a journey to live our best lives- what we call an intentional life. We hope this series has been useful to you and that you continue to join us on the journey to live an inspired life.
Recap:
We can’t make good decisions about our lives or how we spend our time until we know what matters to us. This means we need to be aware of our values, but also what sparks a light in us. We need to be aware of the importance of the contributions we are making in this world. Our lives will be meaningful if we spend time doing what matters.
Quote:
“You often feel tired, not because you’ve done too much, but because you’ve done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
Alexander den Heijer
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Are you a teacher struggling to balance your best work with your best life?
If you are dedicated and caring but often overwhelmed and exhausted, join us at Inspired Together Teachers. We’ll give you inspiration, strategies and tips that help you navigate life’s challenges as a stronger, more confident, and more joy filled person, both in and out of the classroom.
Inspired Together Teachers will give you practical tools to experience more of what matters most in your life.
Co-hosts Paula Schmidt and Michele Vosberg are award winning educators with the experience and skills to help teachers thrive in life and work. They’ve taught at all levels, worked with thousands of teachers, and conducted workshops around the world. They are also the authors of the #1 best-selling book The Inspired Teachers Journal: A Weekly Guide to Becoming Your Best Self.
Paula and Michele would love to have you to join them on their quest to live inspired lives.
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