Looking Beyond Money

"A professional who sees his work primarily as a means of earning money runs out of meaning very soon. After you've achieved basic comfort, the quest for material success actually erodes selfworth. It becomes most pronounced in the later part of one's life. Many among us begin to suffer from a sense emptiness that becomes difficult to decode... At a certain stage in one's career, it is peer recognition that sustains us. But beyond all that, the ones who last the longest in the race are those who have given something back to their profession. These are professionals who are driven be a sense of legacy. There is no sustenance bigger than the power to build an intellectual and emotional inheritance.

Many midcareer professionals nurse an empty desire to do something beneficial for a larger common good. "I want to make a difference to society" is often just false piety. Do small things on a sustained basis; do things for your own profession; do things that make a difference to you, your family, your friends, your neighbours and your colleagues; do not worry about changing the world.

The day you feel empty, shift the attention from yourself to others- go and spend time with a bunch of colleagues who have just joined the organisation, help an intern with her work, write a series of how-to articles based on your experiences, take on probono work with your industry association. See how the pitcher of emptiness begins to fill again."

Culled from: The professional (defining the new standard of excellence at work), by Subroto Bagchi.