How do you find meaningful work?  Does it just happen?  Or do you have to plan for it?  What are the specific steps?  How long will it take?

We are often asked questions like these from individual clients and workshop participants, and despite our attempts to provide clear answers, we often get blank stares. That's because the notion that there is a linear process, a series of steps that will lead to meaningful work, is flawed. It presupposes that a defined set of actions will always produce the desired outcome.

We've been taught that "career planning" is critical to accomplishing your career goals. Most of us love the idea of a plan because it means we can check something off the list and move on. The problem is that life doesn't always fit on the pages of a career plan. Things can easily derail.

The path to meaningful work is wrought with ambiguity and abstraction, with many twists and turns, so in addition to career planning, there's a bit of
"career meandering" that comes into play.  One can get to the desired end point, but the path is often one that is unique to you. There's no "one size fits all" approach to finding meaning in your work.

Consider this:  If you drop stick in a flowing river, it will drift in the direction of the current naturally to reach the mouth of the river. It may get stuck on a fallen tree or other debris, but it will either dislodge itself naturally or it will break. Either way it will reach the intended destination. It's not a plan, but a process.

So it is with finding meaningful work.

The biggest issue with plans is that they require you to make assumptions about things you can't be 100% sure of, like family, finances and, of course, the job market. So while a plan may get you pointed in the right direction, you can't forget that ongoing course corrections are the real keys to long-term success.

Where many of us get tripped up is that we approach the job search as a "problem solving" exercise. While the current work situation may certainly need fixing, the process of finding meaningful work is one of "creating" a worklife - and "creating" and "problem-solving" are very different processes. Many people confuse the two.

The "problem solver" defines the problem, generates alternatives, and selects the logical solution - one that essentially eliminates the problem, but does not necessarily create a result.  Sure, there's such a thing as "creative problem solving," but that's not what we mean in this context.

Take, for example, the artist who puts paint to canvas. She's not trying to solve a problem, but to create a result, based on an expression or vision that is not crystal clear. She may apply some paint, put more paint over it, turn the canvas over and begin anew. Ultimately, she discovers the effect she wanted, but not without some meandering along the way.

Likewise, the search for meaningful work is a series of experiments, learning and adjusting along the way, guided by one's personal guiding principles. You have to stick with the creative process despite the many twists and turns.

We recommend several things to guide your search:

• Start the process with whatever question is most pressing to you. Whether it be something specific (How do I craft a resume that accurately depicts what I most want?) or more psychological (How do I weave my desire for meaning into my daily actions?), take that question on, get it handled or answered in the best way possible, and then move on the next one.

• Develop clarity about your values (What gives direction and purpose in your work life?) and decide how you want those to be integrated into your search for meaningful work.

• Understand your core strengths, both what you do best and what you most like to do. Know how to articulate them from multiple points of view and be able to tell credible stories that give evidence of those strengths.

• Remind yourself to trust the process and that, if you persevere, you will figure it out. The corollary is that this may take some time, so be patient with yourself and the process.

• Make stepping out of your comfort zone an integral part of the search. Regularly and steadily put yourself into places that are unfamiliar, unfriendly, and possibly scary. Be courageous; feel the fear and do it any way.

There are hundreds of career-oriented books and web-sites offering 6, 10 or 12 step programs claiming some secret, special, or unique method for finding meaningful or satisfying work. But they rarely explain that the process only works when the user adopts it as their own and follows the plan in the "right" way.  And even then, he must push beyond the boundaries to continually test what he is learning as each step is taken. "Creators" don't follow someone else's plan, they create their own.

If you want to create a meaningful worklife, you need to learn how to go with the natural flow of things. Stay true to your internal compass. Give yourself the flexibility to adapt and don't assume you've failed because you had to change directions. Ultimately, you'll get to where you want to be, naturally, like the flow of a river.