"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” – Mahatma Gandhi
Meaning in the Wellbeing context refers to “understanding, believing in and serving something greater than yourself, and deliberately engaging in activities for the benefit of others” (Norrish, Robinson & Williams 2011).
Teachers serve students in the hope of a brighter future, which goes beyond themselves. Being a teacher is more than a job for most of us. We are creating a better future by caring for and educating the next generation. I believe that teachers exercise and engage in this meaning in their lives every day. Teachers have a passion for students learning and thriving, which is why teachers can withstand much stress and heavy workload.
On a related note, Angela Duckworth’s (2007) definition of grit is “perseverance and passion for long-term goals”. Note the use of the word passion – if we are passionate about something, we are far more likely to make sacrifices and work towards it. Similarly, if we can see the underlying meaning or purpose behind something, we will be more likely to stick with it when problems arise.
The meaningful life consists of belonging to and serving something that we believe is bigger than ourselves (Seligman 2011). We usually draw meaning from multiple sources, including family and love, work, religion and various personal projects (Emmons 1997). To find meaning we need to look for the positive difference we are making for others in our daily lives. As teachers we are fortunate that what we do does make a difference for others, especially our students and also for the future of our world.
Being mindful of this meaning, can help us to push forward when it’s tough.
You might wish to consider by taking a moment to bring ourselves back to why we do what we do.
Reflect: “how has my work recently served or benefited other people?”
A related activity worth doing is Making the Mundane Meaningful (our PWP from a few weeks ago).
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