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On this episode
“Why do you do what you do?” is a big question, and one we all wrestle with from time to time. The answer can change over time, so it’s worth re-asking it regularly, to make sure we’re where we really need to be.
In this episode, Dr Mark Shrime joins Rachel to discuss what the Japanese call ikigai, but which we might think of as our sense of purpose.
The process starts with asking ourselves why we do what we do. We need to consider what we love, what we’re good at, what the world needs, and what we can get paid for. This reflection can guide us in making decisions that lead to a more fulfilling career.
Without that sense of fulfilment, even if we are in a seemingly purpose-driven profession, we can end up feeling stuck and needing a change.
But by taking a moment every few months to think about why you’re doing what you’re doing, you can align yourself with your purpose, and make tweaks along the way to keep yourself on track to being exactly where you need to be.
Show links
More episodes of You Are Not a Frog:
- How to Reconnect With Your Purpose in Life – Episode 94, with Dr Richard Pile
- Should I Stay or Should I Go? – Episode 89, with Corrina Gordon-Barnes
- Finding Your North Star – Episode 208
Download the episode’s podsheet. You can use it for reflection and to submit for your appraisal as part of your CPD.
About the guests
Mark is a speaker, global surgeon, and Chief Medical Officer for Mercy Ships. He also wrote the book Solving for Why.
Follow Dr Mark Shrime
Reasons to listen
- To discover the importance of aligning purpose with personal and professional life for deep contentment and peace
- To understand the concept of Ikigai and how it helps in identifying a fulfilling and sustainable purpose
- To explore the distinction between hedonic happiness and a purpose-driven life and how they impact wellbeing
Episode highlights
The importance of purpose
What purpose means
Purpose and faith
Ikigai
Finding purpose in global health
Should I stay or should I go?
Duty
Why do you “have” to advance in you rcareer
Purpose as a cure for burnout
Questions to ask yourself around purpose
Mark’s top tips
Episode transcript
[00:00:00] Rachel: Where can you find happiness in a system that seems stretched to breaking point? Is it in the work that you do or in the things that you do to escape work? Dr. Mark Shrime believes happiness lies in part in your purpose, or as the Japanese call it, your ikigai. [00:00:15] Rachel: Mark literally wrote the become purpose as we’ll cover in this episode. And I brought him on this week to talk about finding a path towards work that meets the needs of others, as well as yourself. [00:00:25] Rachel: As medical professionals, we can feel…
