Three Simple Questions to Unlock Your Best Work (part 3)

This is the third and final question in our mini-series, Three Simple Questions To Unlock Your Best Work. Here are the first two questions:

• If you could choose your ideal workday, how many hours would you be in direct communication with people, and how many hours would you be working alone on a project or task? 

• What activity or topic do you find so engaging that it makes you lose track of time?

The first two questions in this series are how and what questions. How do you like to work, and what kind of work brings you the most satisfaction? This question gets at your why. 

What breaks your heart?

Andy Stanley presented this question in his book Visioneering. I was given a copy of this book in high school, and I remember the idea striking me as important, even if I could not fully articulate why.

How would you finish this sentence? It breaks my heart…

As someone who enjoys writing and explaining, many of my answers concern knowledge. It breaks my heart that people don’t know …

• that they were made for a purpose.
• that they have a part to play. 
• that there are resources to help them.
• that God is better than what they’ve heard.
• that they can be part of something bigger than themselves.
• that their work matters.

Here are some other ways you might finish the sentence. 

• It breaks my heart to see children without a safe place to call home.
• It breaks my heart to watch relationships crumble.
• It breaks my heart to see nature destroyed.
• It breaks my heart when people do not receive good healthcare treatment.
• It breaks my heart when people live in fear.
• It breaks my heart to see animals mistreated and neglected.
• It breaks my heart to hear someone say they feel unworthy of love.
• It breaks my heart to see people consumed by anger.
• It breaks my heart to see families torn apart.
• It breaks my heart when people do not experience beauty in their lives.
• It breaks my heart when people forget how much they matter.

We would all agree that these things are negative, but what really hits home for you? What are some things you feel in your gut?

Once we have a few answers to this question, we can ask ourselves how we can be part of the solution in our personal and professional lives. This helps us to unlock our best work because the work will MATTER to us. Our actions will begin to align with our unique heart for people and the world.

What breaks your heart?