Designing a life that's fit for purpose

I had a wonderful conversation with my colleague Charlotte Noon recently in which we realised how much of our work is a direct result of people trying to live and function within systems that are not fit for purpose. We live in ways that expect more and more of us, incresing the pressure and responsibility that’s piled onto us and that approach often directly contradicts the purpose of the organisations using it.

For example, the purpose of a school is (or should be) learning, education. We have considerable evidence that we all learn better when we follow what fascinates us, when we’re relaxed and calm and at peace and yet schools increasingly pile on the pressure, increasing stress with an emphasis on test results, making it difficult for kids to learn. This speaks directly to Charlotte’s work, she supports the parents of quiet teens who get lost in the school system and you can find her at https://linkpage.charlottenooncoaching.co.uk/

The same pattern that we see in schools is replicated in workplaces. Whatever the purpose of an organisation, the staff are going to achieve it more effectively if they are calm, relaxed, able to think clearly and work in harmony with the needs of their bodies yet we all know that this is rarely how workplaces operate.

Because our survival needs come first and that means earning money, we might feel we have no choice that to subject ourselves to these systems, or we might just feel that’s the way it is and not even question it. We then seek out therapy and coaching when we struggle or reach burn out. Though seeking out support when we struggle is a healthy thing to do, perhaps we wouldn’t reach the point of burn out if the systems of society served us, rather than us serving them.

My colleague and I came to the conclusion that in fact the world, or at least the aspects of it that are dictated by humans, is not fit for purpose.

The world itself, our beautiful planet, is everything we could ever need and yet the structures we’ve created around ourselves are hurting us more and more all the time. Which begs the question, what is the purpose of those structures? From the workings of a workplace to the way we organise our lives, what are we trying to achieve? And why?

Now, I don’t want to imply that I’ve in any way figured out the meaning of life or anything but to me if there’s a purpose to being here, it’s to enjoy it. With this in mind though, have I designed my life to reflect that purpose? To a large extent I have but it’s only recently that I’ve stepped away from work that sucks the life out of me and into work I love and there are definitely other aspects of my life that don’t scream ‘enjoyment’ that I’ve yet to find a way out of.

Sometimes changing the structures around us can seem like a monumental task, though not always impossible and for some very admirable people this might be the route to a life that’s fit for purpose. For others the answer that feels best might be to step away from some systems and seek out or create ones that operate differently, systems that put our needs first and in so doing, achieve their own goals more effectively. It can be really tricky to do this when we’re full up with cultural conditioning (which we all are) because that ‘do more, work harder, be productive, be efficient’ voice comes with you even when your workplace consists only of you but by working on our conditioning, making the inner changes as we make the outer changes, perhaps we can design lives that are fit for purpose.

If you’d like to work on your inner changes with me or in community, you can book a free chat or join our women’s circle at www.healingwomanhood.com/book-online