Sean Kershaw's Weblog
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January 16, 2007
Shift
I was the speaker at last night's meeting of Shift, a new group dedicated to helping people find more meaning in their work. It was co-founded by David Buck and Jan Hively (Jan has been a speaker at our events). They had a write-up in yesterday's Star Tribune.
It was a great group of people -- and clearly hitting the babyboomer crowd that they wanted to target. The strength of the turnout is a reflection of the fact that they are on to something: babyboomers wanting to find more meaning and purpose in their lives as they think about "retirement".
I tried to stress the importance of civic engagement - reimagined - to what I think they want to accomplish. Finding your "life work" is only really meaningful when it has a public context, and when you have the opportunity to do something about it where you spend time (work, community, congregations, school, etc).
My "take away" was that you shouldn't have to quit your job and join a non-profit or volunteer to accomplish these goals -- to find more meaning. In a democracy I think this public meaning is critical to our success and survival, and all organizations and institutions have a civic role.
For boomers, who were good at tearing down bad institutions, this will mean helping to build new institutions, or reinvent the ones we have, and to help redefine what it means to be "civic" -- and how this can build meaning in your life.
Posted by Sean Kershaw at January 16, 2007 4:58 AM
Comments
Sean, I was glad to see this, graying babyboomer that I am.
I didn't get engaged in civic-related stuff beyond voting until I discovered that it could be fun... as well as interesting and satisfying. And then I saw that it was a part of me that needed regular attention, same as physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, etc.
So while it might be best in the long run to quit your day job to find more meaning, esp. if you're selling cigarettes or somesuch. But in the meantime, lots can be done with some regular civic exercise. Like attending policy and a pint events!
Posted by: Griff Wigley | January 19, 2007 2:05 PM