Does your work style and position align with your values?

If they don’t, you need to make a change to have the greatest contribution possible.

Two years ago, I started on a mission to help people learn habits and skills that will change their lives. Here’s my statement below:

To do my best to help 5,000 people create a life-changing habit or learn an amazing skill that leads them to a more meaningful & enjoyable life by 2025.

I decided that the best way to work towards this would be to work with real live people in the flesh.

So, I chose one position that fit my athletic history and lifestyle well: personal training.

I’ve learned a lot since being one. It’s been an amazing experience to grow alongside other people who are working to improve themselves.

Recently, though, I’ve realized something has been off.

The way I’ve been working towards this goal has been misaligned with my values and personal preferences and working styles.

I love helping people, but what I have realized even more is that I love learning and creating even more.

Helping others, I must admit to myself, comes at a distance third.

Here are my values, in order from most to least important, when it comes to how I work:

1. Learning new skills
2. Creating things that last
3. Helping others

Selfish?

Probably.

But at least I’m admitting this to myself.

Because unless I adjust how I work, I can’t help people effectively. I’ll just be digging myself into a hole.

What I’ve also realized is that while I love helping people in person, the satisfaction I get from this dies off pretty quickly: if I spend 5 hours per week helping another person, I’m fulfilled in this area of my life.

Being a personal trainer, the aim is usually 20–30 client hours per week. This doesn’t fit who I am, and although I’ve reached this goal for a short period of time in the past, I absolutely dreaded it.

Since that time, I’ve spent the last two years completely avoiding spending that much time with people.

Something needs to change. I need to spend more time learning and creating in a sustainable way, as well as continuing to help people by making sure that I’m learning and creating in a way that is visible and consumable for others.

That way, I’ll still be fulfilled and will be working towards my goal.

There are two learning points that I’d like to emphasize here:

1. Find out what you value most in life and admit this to yourself. If you are unhappy with your true values, work to change them.
2. Know your work style and conform your position to your style rather than the other way around.

These two realizations are fundamental in order for me to get back on the path towards meaningful work.

I’m sick of wallowing around and making inches of progress instead of the miles that could result from a more thoughtful way of doing my work.

Realizing this has been difficult, and implementing these changes will be even harder, but I know I can do it if I’m persistent.

You can too.