Find your True North

Does your Workview support your Lifeview, or does it contradict it? The most important exercise in determining your direction in life (your True North) is to compare your beliefs about work and your beliefs about life and see if they are aligned.

For example, if you highly value service in your Lifeview, but prioritize money-making in your Workview, you will continue to experience internal conflict. But “by having your Workview and your Lifeview in harmony with each other, you increase your own clarity and ability to live a consciously coherent, meaningful life – one in which who you are, what you believe, and what you do are aligned.” (“Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans)

This week compare your Lifeview and your Workview and notice whether or not there is cohesion between them.

HOW TO: Place your notes about your Workview and your Lifeview side by side and compare them.

• Where do they complement each other?
• Where do they clash?
• Does one drive the other?

This helps you identify the general direction that you want to steer your life toward. Once you know what your True North is, you can evaluate any career or life decision from the perspective of whether or not it moves you in the direction of your True North.