Politely asking your ego to step aside.

Let’s Talk About How Work Feels (Not Just How It Looks)

Somewhere along the line, we got a bit too obsessed with how our careers look from the outside.

Job titles, LinkedIn polish, the “I’m absolutely thriving” face while quietly Googling “how to fake your own disappearance”.

I’m sure it’s not just me that can identify with this.

But the truly seasoned leaders I get the opportunity to speak to, the ones with a bit of mileage and wisdom behind them, rarely talk about the glossy stuff when they reflect on what’s mattered most in their careers.

What they remember is how work has felt. The moments they were lit up, in flow, surrounded by good people, doing work that meant something. The positive difference they have helped make for others.

Contribution. Connection. Community.

Deloitte’s research backs this up. 87% of senior leaders say a clear sense of purpose is key to their own job satisfaction. Yet so many of us spend years chasing the next thing without asking: does this even feel like me?

Exhaustion doesn't equal excellence. Busy is not a badge of honour. And dragging yourself through a misaligned job day after day isn’t just bad for you, it trickles down. To your team. Your kids. The young people watching you model what “success” looks like.

When we choose work and how we work that aligns with our values, that taps into our strengths, that gives us energy instead of draining it and we become better leaders, better parents, better humans. We show others that it’s not only allowed to create a career and a way of working that feels good, but also powerfully positive in getting tangible, profitable results.

So maybe it’s time to swap “What do you do?” for “How does it feel?” And build something that’s not just impressive on paper but nourishing in real life.

The average human in the western world spends 90,000 hours of their lives at work. That’s over one third of our lifetimes, on average.

That’s a lot of time to be dragging your feet through what feels like the fires of Mordor.

When you feel good at work, that goodness ripples far beyond the office. And that can be where the magic lives.