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You couldn't pay me enough money to get me to jump off a bridge tethered to a bungee cord. But I've done a lot of bungee jumping at work - jumping into the unknown to solve a new problem, take on an unfamiliar role, or try out a barely learned skill. Sometimes it feels like I'm about to hit bottom, but fortunately I usually bounce back.
Think of a time at work, your current job or any other, when you really found meaning in what you were doing. For many people the time that comes to mind involved stretching to face a significant challenge or working hard to solve a significant problem they really weren't sure how to deal with going in. People vary a lot in how much risk they are comfortable taking, But taking some risk is part of what gives meaning to life, and to work.
It is easy at some point to think "I don't need this" when faced with trying something hard or risky. But the fact is that we do need it. To keep creating meaningful lives, we need to keep tackling hard things, things that make us feel vulnerable, things out of our comfort zone.
Interestingly, one of the most important skills identified in great leaders is their ability to learn from failure - their personal resilience. The best leaders are not those who always get it right, but those who have faced a significant setback and gotten up to try again. They use setbacks to develop key traits and skills like curiosity, judgment, empathy, hard work, openness to feedback, and humility - skills that help them stay levelheaded and forward thinking in hard times and good.
Many high risk jobs like firefighting or flying include failing as part of the training. Firefighters practice worst-case scenarios so resilience becomes second nature. Pilots train in simulators where they can practice handling a plane with a failed engine or in bad weather. Navy Seals who have to learn how to fend off an enemy attack under water practice resilience by staying calm, combating negative thinking, setting short-term goals, and visualizing success. Resilience is a skill we can learn with practice.
When was the last time you signed up to face down a fear, learn a new skill, perform in a new setting, or solve a new kind of problem? Have you let others know you are up for a challenge? Are you demonstrating curiosity, courage, and good judgment in ways that make you look like a good bet for something on the cutting edge? Think of a time when you faced a significant failure or setback. What did you learn from that experience? What do you feel best about in how you handled it? What would you do differently next time?
Bouncing back after a setback and taking the risk to learn something new not only help us grow, they help work - and life - feel more meaningful.
