137 – Spiritually Centered Worklife with Kourtney Whitehead

Kourtney Whitehead has focused her career on helping people reach their work goals, from executive searches to counseling to career transitions, through her positions at top executive recruiting firms and consulting companies. Her site, SimplyService.org, is an online community focused on supporting the creation of spiritually centered work lives. She is a sought-after speaker and podcast guest. Her new book, Working Whole, shares how to unite spiritual and work life.

Top Takeaways: Spiritually Centered Worklife with Kourtney Whitehead

Achievement and fulfillment – Some people reach the pinnacle of what they set out to do yet are still unfulfilled
Many want more meaningful and inspiring lives – but how can we reach our highest potential in both work and life?
People don’t actually know what their passion is – they know what they enjoy and often know what they don’t like but find it difficult to identify their passion and what that would look like
How do you get to a place where you show up as your “whole self”
- Start with small things – are you eating what you want? Are you wearing what you want to wear?
  - We teach ourselves that we can’t trust ourselves to do what we want
  - We have trained ourselves to not be in touch with ourselves spiritually/emotionally
  - Small consistent action taken over time yield massive results
  - Start to take off the mask/costume we’ve been wearing – it takes time to make it happen
  - Get honest about whether you are integrating your beliefs and what you want into your life and worklife
- Success is fulfillment – we can still need and want things but we need to find out what leads us to the long-term goal of fulfillment
- When is enough, enough? Contentment is a decision – are we cultivating that in our life?
- Once you find your passion – is it projected so that it makes you have a deeper meaning or purpose
Those who chase success will find it does not lead to happiness – those who focus on seeking happiness, fulfillment, contentment will always find success
Working whole enables people to work at their highest potential and generate energy and tends to generate abundance
Causes lead to effects – put focus and attention on the causes that lead to success rather than the outcome – stay the course for the right reasons – truly committed to the work itself

“The people who learn to trust in a career process they can’t predict, and who can wait for the right opportunities, are better positioned to realize their ultimate goals. Patiently and methodically working towards fulfillment in their careers is often the better strategy for realizing compatible professional experiences.”

When we enjoy the work daily we are able to keep showing up and doing what the day demands of us – string together a bunch of mundane days to achieve the goals
When doing work for the wrong reasons we miss out on what we actually want
Spiritual beliefs help keep you motivated and anchored and build resilience and patience (trusting in a process)
Step One – Integrate – have you integrated your beliefs into your worklife?
Step Two – Anchor – Am I showing up in the world and living what I believe?

[shareable]Please don’t settle – if you suspect that you are not fulfilled in the work you are doing with your life, keep pushing forward[/shareable]