For the past 45 years, education has been my calling. From my very first job as a business education teacher at Maui’s Baldwin High School to my current position as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs for the University of Hawai’i Maui College, I have had the rare privilege of doing work that has allowed me to feel safe, inquisitive, and uplifted. But more importantly, it was work that I wholeheartedly loved.
Although I have always felt this way about my career, the point was hammered home when I read Marcus Buckingham’s article “Designing Work That People Love,” in which he states that the most successful people aren’t those who do what they love but rather those who find love in what they do.
In an article for McKinsey, Buckingham takes the idea a step further:
Not that work is the only place where you find meaning in your life, but if you spend 40, 50, or 60 hours a week there, what can you usefully and intelligently do to be nourished by that? How do you find love in what you do so that you can actually end up living a life that feels like yours, as opposed to a life that feels like it’s almost deliberately separated from you?
I have been fortunate enough that my job has allowed me to do just that — my work has been a reflection of my passions and values, making every facet of my life inexorably mine.
Buckingham states that you are more likely to love your job if you can answer yes to the following three questions:
- Was I excited to work every day last week?
- Did I have a chance to use my strengths every day?
- At work, do I get a chance to do what I’m good at and something I love?
Fortunately for me, I have always been able to answer the above in the affirmative. What’s more, much of my role as vice chancellor has been guiding students on their own career pathways, which means I’ve been able to help them achieve the same goal of finding love in what they do. That alone has been extremely fulfilling.
Although I am stepping down as vice chancellor, I’m not yet ready to retire. I enjoy education far too much. And so, as I prepare to step into the next phase of my career, I will keep front of mind these experiences that helped me to both effect change and, above all, love my job.