It’s not just what you do. It’s the way you do it.

Over the last 18 months or so I’m sure I’ve not been the only one who’s been questioning myself about what it is that really matters, what it is that actually makes me tick and keeps me going. What is it – particularly in my work life – that has allowed me (driven me even) to keep going amidst the chaos and the turmoil?

If, like me, you work for a charity you’ll be used to peoples’ reactions when you tell them what you do: usually (a version of) it must be ‘very rewarding’. And, yes, most of the time I agree with them. But there is something about that phrase that doesn’t quite stack up. It feels like so much of a cliché that we’ve forgotten what it might actually mean or why it might be the case.

For me, meaning is critical. I need to feel like my work is meaningful. I have done jobs that haven’t felt that way at all and they left me feeling very empty. Grit’s work is meaningful to me. It creates a container for people to have conversations that reach below the surface, that draw out the things that matter to us as human beings: our fears, our vulnerabilities, our need to connect and our resistance to doing so. I feel a deep satisfaction that even on the days when life seems bleak, the ultimate end I am working towards is one that resonates with me. It’s something I really value.

But - and this is a big ‘but’ - all of this would count for nothing if it wasn’t mirrored in the way the organisation runs. If we did amazing work but behaved in a way that was not congruent with the values of that work, as far as I’m concerned, that would cancel out all the positives. So, yes, the outputs and outcomes need to be meaningful, but what gives it real power is the fact that the values of the Grit approach are translated into the actions and behaviours of everyone who makes up the organisation.

It is this sense of congruence that keeps me going on an everyday basis. The sense of community within the team, the connections that we build through daring to be vulnerable ourselves, the relationships that flourish in that environment. That is what keeps me going at my lowest points. The web we have woven is strong and we have pulled hard on its threads in the last eighteen months.

When you put these components together – the meaning, connection and congruence – over time, a real sense of belonging grows. I’m very driven by belonging. I believe everyone deserves to feel that they belong, and when they do, they can overcome all sorts of adversity. I relate to that feeling of not belonging, that awkward sense that everyone else knows the rules and I don’t, I’ve come to realise that many of us feel this way at some stage in our lives. Working in an organisation that creates belonging for its training participants and, yes, also its staff, contractors, trustees, volunteers and supporters …. that really does it for me.

So, what keeps us going – especially in the dislocating and isolating times we have all just been through? The what you do matters, of course. But the way that you do it can give you the strength and determination, the resilience to get through. When your actions and values align, you create a consistency in the swirling uncertainty, a thread to hold on to, a confidence and an optimism about what’s possible for the future.

And, it turns out, I can withstand eighteen months of only seeing people on a laptop screen if that’s what it takes to keep this alive.