Stop Chasing Success and Start Finding Meaning
OCTOBER 14, 2024
Embracing spiritual health isn't just an added benefit—it's the transformative key that unlocks profound personal growth and propels organizations forward; by grounding ourselves and our teams in a deeper sense of purpose and meaning, we ignite resilience, innovation, and productivity that simply can't be achieved through physical, emotional or mental efforts alone.
Develop practices that cultivate your spiritual connection
We invest so much energy into our physical fitness, mental toughness and emotional intelligence, but there’s a deeper layer we often skip over. I don’t talk too much about it publicly because I know it can be a contentious issue, especially in the workplace, but someone sent me an article with enough research that I want to share it.
The missing piece? Spiritual health.
In the article: In Search of Self—and Something Bigger: A Spiritual-Health Exploration, I like how they define spirituality as connecting with something greater than ourselves – a purpose, a calling or a set of values that give our lives meaning. It's the inner compass that guides us through uncertainty, fuels our passion, and anchors us in times of turmoil. It’s what we can put our trust in to transcend the physical, emotional and even mental challenges of the everyday.
On a personal level, embracing spiritual health can be transformative. The research shows that it gives us stability during chaotic periods, enables us to overcome self-imposed barriers and helps cultivate authentic relationships. 70% of successful leaders point to deeper purpose as the source of their effectiveness while the research goes on to correlate a lack of spiritual health with poorer mental, physical and emotional health.
On an organizational level, when teams feel connected to a higher purpose, engagement levels soar almost 4x, innovation is accelerated, productivity goes up 30% and it even strengthens team dynamics with turnover rates dropping 15%.
Spiritual health is clearly a part of our overall well being – some may be more naturally connected than others – but we all can cultivate it with practices of reflection, mindfulness, service, or anything else that builds a meaningful connection with something beyond ourselves.
The work to develop spiritual health is not just a personal asset, but rather the vehicle that facilitates broader transformation to unlock potential far beyond conventional metrics. But how you go about it for yourself and your organization is up to you. Well, I might have some ideas :) – but I want to hear how you’re doing some of this work first.
I look forward to the future that this McKinsey article paints which connects personal fulfillment and organizational excellence to the deeper meaning that only spiritual health can provide.
Key Idea
Spiritual purpose fuels peak performance, well being and growth. Embracing spiritual health isn't just an added benefit—it's the transformative key that unlocks profound personal growth and propels organizations forward; by grounding ourselves and our teams in a deeper sense of purpose and meaning, we ignite resilience, innovation, and productivity that simply can't be achieved through physical, emotional or mental efforts alone.
Takeaway
Develop practices that cultivate your spiritual connection
Build your Movement
What do you believe in beyond yourself? How can you connect more deeply with it?
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