Did you see Bono on TV at the Academy Awards? (I live 10 miles from HollyWEIRD, so I felt the need to watch some of the show.) I wondered if the famous U2 lead 
singer had found what he was looking for among the stars.
How about you? If you haven’t found what you’re looking for, welcome to the crowd. Most of us struggle to find meaning in our lives. We might look for it in our work, family, friends, God, religion… Others try to drown the inner call, the rebel yell for meaning, in the swamp of worldly distractions (mindless television, morbid addictions, material possessions…). Whatever the meaning is, I know it is not the same for everyone even though it flows from the same place.
Let me first confess my bias. I have been heavily influenced on this topic by the writings of Victor Frankl, Joseph Campbell, and a few existentialists. Central to their philosophies is the idea that there is no meaning of life; the meaning of life is the meaning we choose to give life. They assert that meaning flows from our free will, our freedom to choose. The place to find meaning is within.
This idea has profound implications for you as a leader (regardless of your position in the organization). It is why my chapter on the leadership competency ‘Choose Responsibly’ (Chapter 20 – The Jungle Is Neutral) begins with this story about Sisyphus…
The gods condemned the mythological Greek Sisyphus to spend eternity rolling a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. In the final chapter of his philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Albert Camus compares the absurd nature of human life to Sisyphus’s predicament. Yet his essay concludes, “The struggle itself … is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”
How could endlessly rolling a rock up a mountain culminate in happiness? Camus must be crazy, right?
Perhaps.
But what if the story is a metaphor about choosing to make meaning out of life’s difficulties? How much more effective would we be if we refused to fall victim to the destructive “woe is we” mentality, instead choosing to interpret adversity constructively?
Isn’t making sense of our environment and life really about “making meaning?” If so, I’d love to hear how you make meaning out the moments that add up to your life? How do you make conscious choices all day, every day? How do you throw off the shackles of victim thinking? Let me know, I’d love to hear your approach.
Keep stretching when you’re pulled,
Dave
Dave Jensen helps leaders manage ambiguity, gain buy-in to any change, improve decision-making, and achieve difficult goals in today’s complex, competitive, and conflicting environment. For a FREE Chapter or to purchase his newly released groundbreaking book that helps executives and managers develop business-boosting skills, The Executive’s Paradox – How to Stretch When You’re Pulled by Opposing Demands, visit http://davejensenonleadership.com/
