How to Find Fulfillment Beyond Your Day Job

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Jonathan Fields: [00:00:09] So what if you have been searching for purpose and meaning, passion and joy, energy and excitement in all the wrong places? Or if you're limiting yourself to quote, having to find it only in the thing that you get paid to do. In today's SPARKED hot take, we challenge the notion that meaning at work only comes from your job. I mean, sure, when you can find it in your job, that's amazing. And in fact, we've created lots of tools to help you do that, but we've also uncovered a bunch of other ways that you can come alive that have nothing to do with earning a paycheck, which is pretty amazing because it opens the door and says, even if it's not super valuable to you in the work that you're doing right now, that doesn't mean that you are excluded from this feeling of being more alive in all sorts of different ways. And joining me from our fabulous team here at Spark Endeavors is Shelley Adelle Bliss. Together, we open your eyes to the sparks of fulfillment, hiding in plain sight and what we call the four domains of work. And they are not what you think beyond the confines of your paid work lives. Just this world of possibility where you can come alive once you know what to look for. And today we are diving exactly into how to do that. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is SPARKED. Hey, before we dive into today's show, you know, we've learned that a lot of our listeners are sort of at this moment where they're really exploring the notion of work in their lives and their next moves in their careers.

Jonathan Fields: [00:01:42] And if you are in that place, we talk about SPARKED and the Sparketypes a lot on this show, this body of work that we've developed to help you really identify what makes you come alive and how to apply that to the world of work. We've heard from a lot of folks that they would also love some help along that journey. If you're curious, you can also find on our website a directory of Certified Sparketype Advisors who know this body of work and can really help coach and guide you through it. So we'll drop a link to the show notes in that right now. And if it feels interesting to you and you just like somebody to help guide you through this next part of your career or work journey, take a look and see if somebody resonates. It might be the perfect fit to help you along this next leg of your journey. Again, that link is in the show notes now. Hey there! We are excited to dive in! Today we are tackling a particular topic that has come up a lot. And for those who are new to the Sparketypes welcome welcome, welcome! We have been doing work on what makes work one of the best parts of your life. How do we actually do that thing called work, and how can we actually make it something that we all look forward to doing, no matter where we are or what we're up to? So today, Sally, what topic are we diving into?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:03:07] Yeah. Thanks, Jonathan. You know, we get a lot of questions and DMs about what work means in general. So when you talk about work, what is it that you mean. Yeah.

Jonathan Fields: [00:03:18] You know it's an interesting question. It comes up a lot. You know, if you if you literally look on my LinkedIn profile like on the top banner, you know, it has the phrase how to make work one of the best parts of your life. And people sometimes raise an eyebrow in that, like in part because they just don't believe it's possible, because they've never experienced it before, in part because they don't think it quote should be one of the best parts of your lives, that it should just be that thing that you do over there that you know, pays your bills. And for some people that that's enough, you know, like that's okay. They're really good at sort of compartmentalizing. And then it gives them their basic needs satisfied. And then they go and do the other stuff on the side. So when I use the word work, I also use it differently than most people. We take a pretty expansive look at work. So when most people talk about work, what are they talking about? What do you think their job? Yeah, the thing that they get paid to do and that in fact, of course, that that is one type of work. But when we use the word work, especially sort of like in the context of the sparketype body of work, what we're really talking about is anything that asks you to invest meaningful effort over a sustained period of time.

Jonathan Fields: [00:04:37] Now, does that include your job, that thing that you get paid to do? Sure. You know, I guess it depends on how much effort you really invest in that. Maybe for some people, not all that much. Maybe you got one of those cushy jobs where you kind of like, close the door and then, you know, like you're opening up all the different apps and then gaming and doing different things. But, you know, for most of us who live in the real world, work is a certain amount of effort. And the interesting thing about that is the word effort has kind of gotten like this bad take recently. It's like, oh no, you want to avoid exerting yourself, avoid like effort, you know, like it's too much effort. What all the literature shows is that we actually love effort. We love work. We love to pour ourselves into and to work hard at doing things that nourish us, that that like generate meaning and purpose and energy and excitement that we're looking forward to doing, where we see there's a bigger reason that we're doing it, where we feel like it's a pure expression of like that something inside of us that's yearning to get out and where we can really have everything that we need to unlock all the different ways that we want to show up. When we get to do that effort, we experience as something that is deeply important and also an awesome part of life.

Jonathan Fields: [00:05:59] Effort is not bad. Misaligned effort is where things start to go off the rails, where we start to think, oh, like that's a bad thing, you know, because misaligned effort, effort that is not aligned with what makes us come alive is draining, depleting. It's not something that is a meaningful contributor to our lives. Um, sometimes we have to do it, by the way. Sometimes life puts us in a circumstance or a scenario where we have to make choices, where we do certain things simply because it's what we need to do to get through a particular window or moment or season of life. And that's completely fine. Like there's no shame or judgment in doing that. We will all be in that boat at some point in our lives. We may be out of it now. We may be back into it. So we never want to shame or jade anyone who's experiencing that way. But we want to keep tapping into this notion that if and when we do have the opportunity to choose ways to invest effort in a sustained way over a period of time in a way that aligns with what makes us come alive, the more we can do that, the more we can choose those options, the better we feel. The more we feel that contribution bucket in our lives, and the closer we get to the experience of living good lives.

Jonathan Fields: [00:07:17] So when we talk about work, we split it into what we call the four domains of work. So let's walk through what those are. Great. So the first one is what you mentioned, right. It's it's the thing that we all generally think of. It's it's the first thing that pops up. It's the thing that you get paid for. That's your job. This may be one. One thing, it may be a portfolio of things, you may be freelance, whatever it may be. And when we actually can align that type of work with our sparketype profile, with a whole bunch of the other things that we consider really critically important in our body of work, then it becomes a powerful channel for us to feel the way that we want to feel when we're working hard at something. And to the extent that you can do that, that's awesome. But the beautiful thing is that is not the only way that you can get that feeling. There are these three other ways that you can actually say yes to saying, okay, I'm going to work hard at something purely for the feeling that it gives me. So let's say, for example, you're in that job where you're earlier in your career, maybe you're a young parent and you're working 2 or 3 jobs just to kind of cover.

Jonathan Fields: [00:08:34] You're not at a place quite yet where you've got the ability or the agency or the power to start to make different choices or create different opportunities. And you right now, you just have to say, you know what? I've got a job. It's quote, fine, you know it. It pays for everything that I need paid. It gives benefits to me and to my family. It's not overly draining or depleting. You know, it's a pretty fixed amount of time. When I check out, at the end of the day, I leave it behind. It doesn't stay on my head, and it kind of takes care of the necessities for me, what we call your essential needs in the Sparketype bodywork, it takes them off the table like I got that cover and that makes me feel good. I'm comfortable. Right. So if that's you or if you're in a season where like, that's your your experience. So you look at that and you say, okay, so there are a whole bunch of things that I can try to try and make it feel more alive. And we identify different paths that we'll probably talk about in a future episode to run experiments, to actually try and make it feel even better. But even if you say like, it kind of is what it is, and I don't see a lot of opportunity in this sort of like main thing that I'm getting paid to do, to really come alive to express the different parts of my Sparketype profile, to immerse myself in the elements of culture and workplace and people that really make me come alive.

Jonathan Fields: [00:09:55] I don't really I don't really have the opportunity to do that in a meaningful way yet. The beautiful thing is, because we look at work as having these three other domains, that doesn't mean that you don't have the ability to come alive at all, because you can look to these three other domains of work as conduits or channels to express your Sparketype to be with the people you want to be with, to immerse yourself in the culture, to all these different things. So you get to open three other doors and create this sort of blended experience that gives you the stability of that sort of like basic necessity driven job, and then do all these other things to spark on the side. So what are those three other domains of work that we look at? Well, one is a little bit counterintuitive. One is leisure pursuits. So if you think about this, you know, let's say, Shelley, what do you love to do? That's sort of like like on the side, you don't get paid to do it, but you would gladly just spend hours and hours and hours doing it.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:11:03] Playing in the kitchen, experimenting with food.

Jonathan Fields: [00:11:05] Okay. So do you do that because at the end of the day, like you're going to serve up a meal and somebody's going to pay, you know, okay, they may pay you with love or like hugs or gratitude or like helping to do the dishes, whatever it may be. Right? But there's no expectation that, like, somebody's going to write you a check or swipe a credit card, you know, like you're just going to whip out your phone and they'll be like, okay, like, here's here's the, you know, like, make sure the chip works. Um, you don't do it for that. Does it take work? Like if you spend time like just experimenting or playing with all sorts of different menu items or, you know, like recipes and stuff like that, does that take work?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:11:42] Certainly. But it's fun, right?

Jonathan Fields: [00:11:44] So that's the distinction we want to make here. And I know, like there's a part of you that has a strong maker impulse also. So it gets to satisfy that part of you. You get to express a part of yourself that is really core to who you are and what makes you come alive. When you're sitting there in the kitchen, you're like, hmm, I've got these ten ingredients. I got a stove, I got an oven, and I got something that maybe resembles a recipe, but I want to break the rules a little bit here and just see what we can come up with. You know, maybe takes you an hour to do right now, at the very same time, somewhere else in the very city that you live is working in a commercial kitchen, functionally doing the exact same thing that you're doing. You're both investing effort in a meaningful way over a sustained period of time. Right? They're getting paid for it. You're not, but you're getting paid in a different way through the feeling that it gives you by being able to express this thing, which is a part of you. It just brings you joy and meaning and maybe purpose, because now you get to serve something creative and fun and playful to someone you love and sit down with them. Right? So, you know, we have this other thing where we look at leisure pursuits as this is another one of those four domains of work, and this is another awesome place where people can frequently channel their sparketype or find another outlet for their sparketype, you know? So for me, an example would be, as we've talked about in prior episodes, my primary Sparketype or strongest impulse is what we call the maker.

Jonathan Fields: [00:13:19] It's all about the process of creation, making things. And a couple of years back, I pretty much vanished for a month out of a year, and I went out to rural Pennsylvania, and I spent my time living with and working with a luthier, a guitar builder side by side, who was teaching me how to build an acoustic guitar from scratch, from the raw materials. Now, we started in the workshop at 8 a.m., and we generally took maybe a half an hour break for lunch, and we knocked off at generally about 9 p.m. every day. So these were like 13 hour days without a whole lot of breaks without anything else going on. And these were physical days, like this was sort of like really physical work the whole time. The end of that day, I was exhausted and I was astonishingly fulfilled and happy and nourished, even though, like, it took a ton of energy, I was energized by it. Now, did I get paid to actually build a guitar while somebody else working at a guitar factory was probably getting paid for doing something similar? No, I did it purely because of the feeling that it gave me, and in fact, I paid for the privilege of being able to do it, um, and to end up with a guitar that was probably, you know, like ten times jankier than anything I could have bought off the shelf for the same amount of money, but I loved the experience of doing it.

Jonathan Fields: [00:14:42] That was a leisure pursuit for me. So I used that. I was really missing the physical act of making in my day to day work. And for me, the physical part of making is the highest expression where I do a lot of making in digits and electronics and words. But I was missing that physical thing, and this leisure pursuit brought that back to me in a way that allowed that it created another channel that I didn't easily have in my sort of like full time gig at that moment in time. And it reminded me how important it was to actually reconnect with that. So that's the second domain of of work. Do you do you have I mean, beyond sort of like cooking. Are there any other things that you do like on a regular basis that would jump out of you that would fall under that? Yeah.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:15:27] So I'm hearing like anything that's like a hobby or craft activities, like I'm certainly a crafter and I'm always doodling on my notepads. And recently, um, I've taken up a bit of sewing. I'm not great at it. Um, but I do get just genuine joy and fulfillment in the process of it.

Jonathan Fields: [00:15:47] Yeah. And and that's amazing. So that's exactly. What we're talking about. We do it for no other reason than the feeling it gives us, even though we call it work. And that is another way of like, really reinforcing the fact that it's not work that's bad or it's not work that we don't like. It's not effort that we don't like. It's misaligned work or effort. So when we can align it with those intrinsic impulses that we have, it becomes amazing. So paid work. We talked about leisure pursuits. Let's talk about those. The remaining two domains of work. And the third one we often talk about is what we call roles or devotions. Now, these are the things that the responsibilities or the roles that we engage in, that we say yes to, that often bring us a lot of joy and fulfillment outside of paid work. And maybe it's similar things that other people actually do as part of their paid work and they get paid to do. But that's not why we say yes to them. We do these things. We say yes to these roles or devotions simply because of the feeling that it gives us. So what I mean when I say roles are devotions, like what pops into your mind is maybe like immediate examples of something like that say.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:16:56] Well, I just think of relationships. So, you know, my relationship as a daughter or, um, volunteering or caregiving in the community, those sorts of things.

Jonathan Fields: [00:17:06] Yeah, exactly. And how many of us have some version of that? You know, like maybe you have a partner in your life or not. Maybe you have a parent or a child or a pet. You know, if you're if you're somebody who is a pet person, you know, and you're going to go play with them on a regular basis when they need, um, help or assistance, you're going to help them out when they need to be walked. You're going to go for a walk with them, you know, and you may go throw a Frisbee with him. Now, you may love that or you may do it because you know they love it. You may be taking care of an ailing parent, or maybe you're volunteering at a local shelter or whatever the organization is right now. Nobody's paying you for this. Like, if I remember seeing years ago, somebody calculated like what the salary would actually be for a typical stay at home parent. It would just be astonishingly huge because the amount of hours and the intensity of the work. But we say yes to these things for a different reason. Does it take work? Of course. Oftentimes a lot of work, you know, is it is it sustained effort over a window of time? Yes. Right. Is somebody offering a paycheck or a credit card or some sort of financial compensation at the end of it? No, but we still get something incredibly meaningful from it.

Jonathan Fields: [00:18:23] And if we align those roles and devotions with our sparketype with that innate impulse to do something simply for the reason it gives us, because it makes us feel more alive, more filled with meaning and purpose then that work. It gives us a different kind of payback in the form of full expression and vitality. So, you know, when somebody is, for example, if somebody is a nurturer, one of the ten Sparketypes and that is all about lifting others up, elevating others, giving care, taking care, being of service to others. Right. And that person is a caretaker of maybe somebody who's elderly in their family, or maybe just somebody in their neighborhood where every Friday they go over and, you know, for 3 or 4 hours in the afternoon, they read to them, they help clean the dishes, they help take care of them. Right. That person is going over there. And that becomes a window for them to say, like, I get to step into this zone where I'm going to be working this whole time, but I'm going to be working in a way that lets the deepest parts of myself, the most nourishing parts of myself, be centered. And because of that, that effort, that work becomes deeply fulfilling to me. So that's roles and devotions, and we can pretty much all say yes to those. And sometimes we do say yes to them.

Jonathan Fields: [00:19:41] Sometimes we say yes to them simply because we've made a commitment. But oftentimes, if we can align that with our sparketypes or do it in a way that lets our sparketypes out, that can be incredibly powerful. So let's take that same example of somebody you volunteer to go and be a caretaker for, somebody you know, every Friday afternoon. Well, I use the example of someone who's a nurturer, so. Well, that just comes naturally to that person. They want to be of service, they want to take care and give. May be what if you're a maker? What if you're what we call the sage? That's one of the ten Sparketypes. And that's all about awakening, insight and others. It's about sharing things that you've learned and discovered. It's about education. Illumination is the energy around that, right? So a sage could show up to that exact same commitment. And basically every Friday they could heading into that week, they could be learning all sorts of really cool and fun stuff that might be entertaining or valuable or useful when they step into that window where they're, you know, they say yes to the role of caregiver for a Friday afternoon. So they're going to show up differently than a nurturer who's just there out of, you know, like they're going to do everything to serve. Seed is probably going to step into that same thing and say like, how do I get my sage on in doing this caretaker thing? They're going to be like, you know what? Like, I read this amazing book and can I share, like some of the ideas from it? I think it would be really interesting to you or insightful to you, and let's have a conversation about it.

Jonathan Fields: [00:21:05] Or they might say, there's this beautiful book that just came out like filled with poetry and language. Can I, can I read to you for 20 or 30 minutes? You know, they're going to actually center themselves by taking that impulse and saying, how can I bring that forward in this opportunity to be a caregiver? So it's, you know, like all the different Sparketypes, it's more about the mode that you bring to any given role, um, rather than the title itself. And I think that brings us to the final of the four domains of work, and that one is what we call learning pursuits or learning pathways. Maybe this is a little bit less intuitive for people, but what we've learned is that often there's this fourth way to let your Sparketype out, and that is in how you invest in. Personal learning. And oftentimes when we're really passionate about something or whether, you know, there's something that really lights us up or fascinates or deeply interests us in order for us to be able to do more of it or do it at a higher level, or develop skills around it, or make it more applicable, or maybe make it, you know, get us to a level where we're actually qualified to then turn it into a job.

Jonathan Fields: [00:22:18] We have to say yes to a certain amount of learning, or we get to say yes to a certain amount of learning. Now for the Maven Sparketype, which is one of the ten which is all about knowledge acquisition, you open your eyes in the morning, you're just driven to learn, for learning sake, whether there's any value in applying that knowledge or not. You just love that. Well, they're going to say yes to learning pathways simply because that is the expression of their sparketype. But for many others, they'll say yes to learning experiences because it is going to give them the wisdom, the knowledge, the insight skills, the tools to then be able to turn around and maybe do the work of their sparketype at a higher level. So is that work to say yes to an intensive learning process? Sure. Do you invest effort over a sustained amount of time? Sure. When you do it in a way that is supportive of and aligned with a deep interest, something that is really an expression of your Sparketype we find that again, that becomes another really powerful channel for you to sort of let the spark out and to come more fully alive. So zooming the lens out, you know, when we talk about work, we're not just talking about the thing that you get paid to do.

Jonathan Fields: [00:23:30] That's one of four different domains of work we're talking about the thing that you get paid to do. We're talking about leisure pursuits. We're talking about roles and devotions, and we're talking about learning pathways. And the beautiful thing is that if any 1 or 2 of those are blocked, if for whatever circumstance you're dealing with in your life, you feel like you just don't have a viable way to sort of let your Sparketype out to really channel it and center it in those. You can look to the other ones as other ways, as conduits to let this part of yourself out into the world, to really give it light and give it oxygen and fan the flames so that you can say, yes, I'm going to honor whatever responsibilities or whether sense of values that I have that are keeping me in this other domain, but not letting me really become as SPARKED as I can. And for the time being, and hopefully that changes over time. But even if, you know, for the time being, it is what it is. You can look to these other domains of work to find really powerful ways to do the work of your sparketype, to let it become a part of the way that you move through the world. Does that all make sense?

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:24:40] Yes. Thank you. And it feels so expansive. So if I'm feeling frustrated, let's say in my job, perhaps I could just spend a little bit more time in a leisure pursuit or take a workshop. So I appreciate that.

Jonathan Fields: [00:24:51] Yeah, exactly. It gives you more freedom to actually say, like, I'm not just because I can't get this feeling that I want for the time being, from the thing that I'm getting paid to do. It doesn't mean I can't get the feeling at all. There are other ways that I can look at doing it. So I think that wraps us up for today on the topic of what do we really mean when we're using the word work and what are the four domains? And we will see you all here back again next week for another conversation around how to make work one of the best parts of your life. Thanks to Ellie for, uh, helping keep us on track today.

Shelley Adelle Bliss: [00:25:28] Thanks, Jonathan.

Jonathan Fields: [00:25:29] Take care everyone. Hey, so I hope you enjoyed that conversation. Learned a little something about your own quest to come alive and work in life, and maybe feel a little bit less alone along this journey to find and do what sparks you. And remember, if you're at a moment of exploration, looking to find and do or even create work that makes you come more fully alive, that brings more meaning and purpose and joy into your life, take the time to discover your own personal Sparketype for free at sparketype.com. It'll open your eyes to a deeper understanding of yourself and open the door to possibility like never before. And hey, if you're finding value in these conversations, please just take an extra second right now to follow and rate SPARKED in your favorite podcast app. This is so helpful in helping others find the show and growing our community so that we can all come alive in work in life together. This episode of SPARKED was produced by executive producers Lindsey Fox and Me, Jonathan Fields. Production and editing by Sarah Harney. Special thanks to Shelley Adelle for her research on this episode. Until next time. I'm Jonathan Fields and this is SPARKED.