Hello, joyful community!
Last Friday I met with one of my coaching clients in person (what a treat!) at a co-working space in Dallas called “Good Coworking”. On my way to the restroom, I noticed a wall with the word “GOOD” covered in colorful sticky notes. Naturally, I got curious.
Upon closer inspection, I noticed that next to the word “Good” was a question:
What does “GOOD WORK” mean to you?
The question was followed by an invitation to write your response on a sticky note and add it to the wall.
Before reading other people’s responses, I paused and thought about my answer. Then, I took a sticky note and added my two cents to the colorful canvas.
Before I tell you my response, I’d love to know yours:
What does “GOOD WORK” mean to YOU?
If you were passing by this wall and had a chance to write down your answer on a sticky note, what would you write?
Let me know in the comments!
After jotting down my answer, I read what people had to say.
Some responses were simple and powerful:
“Being kind”
“Listening”
“Acceptance”
“Sharing a smile”
Some were philosophical:
“Do or do not; there is no ‘try’”
“F.O.C.U.S.: Follow One Course Until Successful”
“Trust today, not tomorrow”
Others were courageous:
“Trust women’s choices”
“Letting black people know they are not invisible”
“Combating climate change”
“Working together to promote sustainability”
I loved seeing the diversity of people’s responses, imagining what life experiences and big dreams inspired what they wrote.
For me, “good work” at this moment in time is this:
“Courageous Creativity”
I wrote these words down and placed the sticky note in the white space of the first “O”.
Why “courageous creativity”?
For a long time, I’ve held the belief that I’m not the “creative” type. I entrusted that title over to those who I thought better deserved this adjective, like people who paint, draw, and create “real” art.
Then, my friend, Chef Carla Contreras (who recently launched her own Substack called “Nourishing Creativity”) asked in her most recent post “How do you define creativity?".
Her question got me thinking…
To me, creativity is creating something out of nothing by applying your natural talents, while cultivating new ones, to delight, inspire, support, or entertain.
Being creative in this way requires courage. Courage to:
Listen to, instead of dismissing, your ideas
Set aside your fears
Take tiny steps forward every day, even when your ideas seem irrational
It turns out that under my own definition of “creativity”, I am the creative type! I simply need more courage to bring more of my ideas (especially the ones that feel impractical or crazy) to life.
Someone said to me today:
“We have one life. Use it, or lose it.”
This statement lit a fire under me.
I hope it does for you too as you consider these questions:
*What does “good work” mean to you?
*How are you taking advantage of your ONE life to do that “good work”?
*If you’re not currently doing “good work” as you define it, what are you willing to do to change that?
P.S. Over the next few days, I’m giving myself space to indulge in my “courageous creativity” by ideating, brainstorming, and exploring new ideas on my own and in creative design sessions with others.
Some of the ideas circling in my mind include ways to support this newsletter community even more meaningfully and powerfully as I enter my tenth month and 40th edition of writing The Joyful Career!
During this “courageously creative” time, please know I may not write for a week or two, as I’ll be giving myself space to imagine, create, and plan. I’ll be back soon!