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FRONT-ROW SEAT: SADIE CHATS WITH JONATHAN FIELDS FROM THE GOOD LIFE PROJECT
If you’re one of the 1 million people a month who listen to The Good Life Project podcast, you already know about the co-founder and host, Jonathan Fields, and the incredible community he’s created. Through the podcast, the mission-driven community, and a series of workshops and retreats, The Good Life Project helps people live more meaningful, connected, and vital lives.
Last week, barre3 CEO and cofounder Sadie Lincoln sat down with Jonathan in barre3’s Connect Space to talk about everything from Sparketype (do you know yours?) to the three themes of a life well-lived. We left feeling so inspired, and we couldn’t wait to share our takeaways with you. Here are some of our favorite learnings from Sadie and Jonathan’s conversation.
INSTEAD OF SEARCHING FOR YOUR PURPOSE, FIGURE OUT WHAT DRIVES YOU
Our culture puts a big emphasis on purpose (the “why am I here” question), but searching for that can be both paralyzing and limiting. For example, what if you decide your purpose is teaching kids with disabilities how to snowboard, but then you have to live in Mesa, Arizona? You’re stuck. Instead of purpose, Jonathan suggests focusing on what drives you to do the work you want to do. With this approach, finding yourself in snowless Mesa, Arizona wouldn’t be a problem. You’d simply look at what was driving you to teach kids with disabilities to snowboard, and you’d create another opportunity that allowed you to fulfill that driving need. Jonathan believes so strongly that we’re each born with a certain imprint for work that makes us come alive that he created a method to help us discover exactly what ours is. It’s called Sparketype, and the entire barre3 team is buzzing about their results. (You can take the test to discover your Sparketype here.)
LIVING ACCORDING TO YOUR SPARKETYPE ISN’T ABOUT CHANGING YOURSELF
The beauty of figuring out what drives you is that it’s not about changing yourself; it’s about discovering your authentic self. As Jonathan puts it, “you don’t transform to get to your next better self; you’re liberating the self that’s always been inside.” The principle mirrors barre3’s approach to fitness. “The traditional fitness model is about chasing an ideal,” says Sadie. “Here’s me now, but I want to be something else. It’s an external measure of success.” At barre3, there is no ideal to chase. “You might have a goal, but it’s not about being someone else,” Sadie says. “It’s about being you, with purpose.” Just as The Good Life Project is about liberating your authentic self, barre3 is about trusting that you are your own best teacher and looking within—not to the external world—for answers.
LIVING A GOOD LIFE MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT FOR EACH OF US, BUT THERE ARE 3 COMMON THEMES
Every time Jonathan interviews a thought leader for his podcast, he asks them what it means to live a good life. And while the specifics of the guests’ answers vary, there are three things that virtually everyone mentions:
- Health and vitality. “It’s the classic ‘if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything,'” says Jonathan, “but what’s interesting is that health is defined very differently by different people.” For someone who has extensive physical disabilities or is chronically ill, it’s not running a 10k on the weekends, it’s understanding how to live for each day. It’s not about moving toward perfect, it’s about optimizing whatever level is appropriate for you.
- Meaningful contribution. “If you think of the classic mid-life crisis, it’s not a crisis of health, it’s not a crisis of money, and it’s not a crisis of power,” Jonathan says. “It’s a crisis of meaning. It’s ‘what am I here to do, and why am I not doing it.'” Once you discover that meaning, you want to spend as much time as possible doing that work. “The thing that makes someone say there’s no reason left to live is when they cannot identify a thread of meaning in their life,” says Jonathan. But conversely, the people he’s encountered who live the happiest, healthiest lives have discovered their unique contribution and built their lives around it.
- Deep and meaningful relationships. The longest-running study on human flourishing tracked a group of men over about 80 years. The longest-working curator of the study was asked, “is there any one thing that seems to be uniquely determinative of a life well-lived across all of these generations?” His answer was love. The quality and depth of the relationships was more determinative of our ability to flourish than anything else, and that’s exactly what Jonathan’s interviewees have told him, as well.
YOUR JOB DOESN’T GIVE YOU MEANING, BUT YOU CAN BRING MEANING TO YOUR JOB
“One of the big popular-psychology myths is that if you’re not doing what you love, if it’s not giving you exactly what you need, you should just quit, leave it behind—along with everyone who doesn’t agree with you—and move on,” says Jonathan. “But at the Good Life Project, we’re looking to help solve problems for someone who lives in the real world, very often has a family, and probably has substantial responsibilities. The last thing we want to do is blow that all up.”
Instead of the drop-it-and-move-on approach, The Good Life Project helps people look for ways they can change the way they’re relating to what they’re doing, or for ways they can change the circumstances of what they’re doing. Jonathan shared an example of research involving janitorial staffs in hospitals. The janitors who loved their jobs considered themselves part of the care team. By cleaning the hospital, they were creating an optimal environment for the patients to recover. Their work mattered. The ones who hated their jobs thought of their work as meaningless and monotonous. The only difference in loving and hating the work was mindset.
In situations where a change in mindset isn’t enough, Jonathan recommends looking at ways you can change the circumstances of your job. Instead of quitting, can you look at what drives you and figure out how to get more of that into your work? This might mean working beyond your job description (at least temporarily), but because the new duties stem from your driving force, or Sparketype, they will help you feel more engaged and give you that intangible thing that makes you excited to go to work every day. This change in circumstances will change the way you experience your job, and it will change the way people experience you—all for the better.
We are so grateful to Jonathan for stopping by and sharing his ideas with us. You can listen to Jonathan’s interview with Sadie on his podcast here. If you’d like to discover your Sparketype, you can take the test here.
If you’re one of the 1 million people a month who listen to The Good Life Project podcast, you already know about the co-founder and host, Jonathan Fields, and the incredible community he’s created. Through the podcast, the mission-driven community, and a series of workshops and retreats, The Good Life Project helps people live more meaningful, connected, and vital lives.
Last week, barre3 CEO and cofounder Sadie Lincoln sat down with Jonathan in barre3’s Connect Space to talk about everything from Sparketype (do you know yours?) to the three themes of a life well-lived. We left feeling so inspired, and we couldn’t wait to share our takeaways with you. Here are some of our favorite learnings from Sadie and Jonathan’s conversation.
INSTEAD OF SEARCHING FOR YOUR PURPOSE, FIGURE OUT WHAT DRIVES YOU
Our culture puts a big emphasis on purpose (the “why am I here” question), but searching for that can be both paralyzing and limiting. For example, what if you decide your purpose is teaching kids with disabilities how to snowboard, but then you have to live in Mesa, Arizona? You’re stuck. Instead of purpose, Jonathan suggests focusing on what drives you to do the work you want to do. With this approach, finding yourself in snowless Mesa, Arizona wouldn’t be a problem. You’d simply look at what was driving you to teach kids with disabilities to snowboard, and you’d create another opportunity that allowed you to fulfill that driving need. Jonathan believes so strongly that we’re each born with a certain imprint for work that makes us come alive that he created a method to help us discover exactly what ours is. It’s called Sparketype, and the entire barre3 team is buzzing about their results. (You can take the test to discover your Sparketype here.)
LIVING ACCORDING TO YOUR SPARKETYPE ISN’T ABOUT CHANGING YOURSELF
The beauty of figuring out what drives you is that it’s not about changing yourself; it’s about discovering your authentic self. As Jonathan puts it, “you don’t transform to get to your next better self; you’re liberating the self that’s always been inside.” The principle mirrors barre3’s approach to fitness. “The traditional fitness model is about chasing an ideal,” says Sadie. “Here’s me now, but I want to be something else. It’s an external measure of success.” At barre3, there is no ideal to chase. “You might have a goal, but it’s not about being someone else,” Sadie says. “It’s about being you, with purpose.” Just as The Good Life Project is about liberating your authentic self, barre3 is about trusting that you are your own best teacher and looking within—not to the external world—for answers.
LIVING A GOOD LIFE MIGHT LOOK DIFFERENT FOR EACH OF US, BUT THERE ARE 3 COMMON THEMES
Every time Jonathan interviews a thought leader for his podcast, he asks them what it means to live a good life. And while the specifics of the guests’ answers vary, there are three things that virtually everyone mentions:
- Health and vitality. “It’s the classic ‘if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything,'” says Jonathan, “but what’s interesting is that health is defined very differently by different people.” For someone who has extensive physical disabilities or is chronically ill, it’s not running a 10k on the weekends, it’s understanding how to live for each day. It’s not about moving toward perfect, it’s about optimizing whatever level is appropriate for you.
- Meaningful contribution. “If you think of the classic mid-life crisis, it’s not a crisis of health, it’s not a crisis of money, and it’s not a crisis of power,” Jonathan says. “It’s a crisis of meaning. It’s ‘what am I here to do, and why am I not doing it.'” Once you discover that meaning, you want to spend as much time as possible doing that work. “The thing that makes someone say there’s no reason left to live is when they cannot identify a thread of meaning in their life,” says Jonathan. But conversely, the people he’s encountered who live the happiest, healthiest lives have discovered their unique contribution and built their lives around it.
- Deep and meaningful relationships. The longest-running study on human flourishing tracked a group of men over about 80 years. The longest-working curator of the study was asked, “is there any one thing that seems to be uniquely determinative of a life well-lived across all of these generations?” His answer was love. The quality and depth of the relationships was more determinative of our ability to flourish than anything else, and that’s exactly what Jonathan’s interviewees have told him, as well.
YOUR JOB DOESN’T GIVE YOU MEANING, BUT YOU CAN BRING MEANING TO YOUR JOB
“One of the big popular-psychology myths is that if you’re not doing what you love, if it’s not giving you exactly what you need, you should just quit, leave it behind—along with everyone who doesn’t agree with you—and move on,” says Jonathan. “But at the Good Life Project, we’re looking to help solve problems for someone who lives in the real world, very often has a family, and probably has substantial responsibilities. The last thing we want to do is blow that all up.”
Instead of the drop-it-and-move-on approach, The Good Life Project helps people look for ways they can change the way they’re relating to what they’re doing, or for ways they can change the circumstances of what they’re doing. Jonathan shared an example of research involving janitorial staffs in hospitals. The janitors who loved their jobs considered themselves part of the care team. By cleaning the hospital, they were creating an optimal environment for the patients to recover. Their work mattered. The ones who hated their jobs thought of their work as meaningless and monotonous. The only difference in loving and hating the work was mindset.
In situations where a change in mindset isn’t enough, Jonathan recommends looking at ways you can change the circumstances of your job. Instead of quitting, can you look at what drives you and figure out how to get more of that into your work? This might mean working beyond your job description (at least temporarily), but because the new duties stem from your driving force, or Sparketype, they will help you feel more engaged and give you that intangible thing that makes you excited to go to work every day. This change in circumstances will change the way you experience your job, and it will change the way people experience you—all for the better.
We are so grateful to Jonathan for stopping by and sharing his ideas with us. You can listen to Jonathan’s interview with Sadie on his podcast here. If you’d like to discover your Sparketype, you can take the test here.
