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Dieter Lange: "Why do you work? This is how you achieve fulfillment instead of burnout!"

Reading time 6 minutes

Why do you work? Do you work to earn money? Or to maintain your social status? The vast majority of people answer this question in some form with the words "to ... to." This is not uncommon, though quite sad. Because it means they are referring to a distant goal in the future - and are in danger of missing the moment. Or even getting into a burnout.

The "actually" in the question should instead stand for the underlying motive. What this means and why many people do not work for the sake of work itself explains Dieter Lange. The executive trainer is a successful top speaker and expert on productivity. He has been on stage at Greator several times and deals with exciting topics around change. In doing so, Dieter Lange sheds light on both professional and private change processes. He provides valuable impulses and is guaranteed to broaden your horizons.

Dieter Lange: Why burnout is almost normal

Let's take a closer look at the (working) world in which we live. According to Dieter Lange, it is above all complex, uncertain and ambivalent. The expert knows that a high rate of sick leave is psychologically related: "We have an exponential development in depression. Burnout affects a tremendous number of people. Some burnout sufferers now dare to come out. Others work until they drop." What are the reasons for working until you burn out?

First of all clears Dieter Lange that the sense of purpose in what they do has been lost for a large number of employees: "The lifeblood is no longer there. The pride of work is missing." No wonder, because everything that often counts, are data, changes and facts. Dieter Lange: "Many companies are numbers-driven, it's all about results that have to be delivered quarterly. Long-term planning is hardly feasible anymore. And as a result, the sense of purpose has been lost for many employees. Everyone is trying to set up their things as optimally as possible in the short term."

The consequences are permanent pressure, overwork and the question of the overriding meaning. An often counterproductive approach, as Dieter Lange knows: "The company's goals are the pillars of the temple, so to speak. But who actually asks about the roof of the temple? Could you say for the company you work for what the roof of the temple is?"

Dieter Lange Burnout: What Generation Y wants in a job

The roof of the temple does not consist of goals, but of the context, the overarching framework for action, the very idea of the company. Dieter Lange calls it the North Star - what really moves people: "If you reach people's hearts, you don't have to worry about their heads. But first win the hearts! This is not about numbers. In passion, people live; in reason, they merely exist."

Anyone who wants performance today must therefore offer meaning. Dieter Lange explains that this is exactly what leads to major challenges with Generation Y: "The 20- to 35-year-olds have certain criteria that they use to determine which company they want to work for. These include the meaningfulness of what they do, the scope for action, the social and cultural nature of the interaction, and the opportunities for further training. Salary is comparatively far behind."

Why you can work out of love or fear

At the same time, hardly any employees leave their company just for the money. Of course, you can climb up a few rungs on the salary ladder thanks to a job change. But Dieter Lange is certain: "People don't leave their company, people leave their superiors." Before it comes to the final job change, most employees have usually long since become demotivated. Dieter Lange: "Some even work passive-aggressively, i.e. against their own employer. They just don't let on. The rest work with a leisure-oriented protective attitude."

So what is the real motive in a world where only a few employees are still highly committed and wholeheartedly involved? According to Dieter Lange, there are basically only two overriding motives for Motivation: "Whatever you do, you do either out of love or out of fear. There is no other motive. Where there is fear, there is never love. And where there is love, there is never fear."

Those who work merely out of fear - for example, out of fear of not earning money, not having a recognized status, or not conforming to social norms - will never put their heart and soul into their work. But what exactly distinguishes fear from love? And how does this knowledge help you to better answer the question "Why do you actually work"? Dieter Lange describes a development that every person can go through. It consists of six reasons or levels and answers step by step why people work.

1. safety

The first reason to work is security. Dieter Lange: "We live in a welfare state. We never have to go hungry and can always have a roof over our heads so that we don't freeze. People in the third world simply want to survive. Once that is given, we strive for the next level."

2. uncertainty

According to the law of polarity, nothing is true without its opposite - and the opposite of certainty is uncertainty. As a logical person, you are now asking yourself, "Yes what now?" But in life, it's always both and. Dieter Lange asserts, "Nothing is harder to bear than a string of good days. We seek thrill and anxiety. We want challenges. That, too, is already a given for most of us."

3. significance

If the two previous levels are there, the person strives for significance. Dieter Lange: "You want to be someone special. And for that you collect a lot of prostheses for your Self-esteem. This includes job titles, the showpiece car, and other status symbols." But sometimes you should stop and question if this is really necessary. Often people spend money they don't have to buy things they don't need, in turn to impress people they don't like. It's pretty crazy, isn't it?

How to beat ego trips

In summary, the first three reasons according to Dieter Lange as ego trips: "Our ego is our mind fighting for its own survival. And on the above three levels, we are always dealing with the same motive, namely fear. Fear that life is not safe. Or, that life is boring. Fear of counting for nothing in the eyes of others."

The motto on these three levels is: More is better. Higher, faster, further! But you should say goodbye to that, because life doesn't run in a linear fashion. Dieter Lange: "We pay an incredibly high price for significance in particular. Fortunately, many people realize at this point that life has to be about more. That means we need a transformation, a qualitative step. Away from significance, towards a new level.

4. inner growth

Here it is, the new level! It is dedicated to inner growth. It is true: giving is more blessed than receiving. Dieter Lange: "When this inner growth comes to a culmination, then you are able to give to others, to pay tribute to them."

5. contribution

At this level it is no longer fear that drives you, but love. And instead of continuing to be on the ego trip, you now enter the path to self-realization. Dieter Lange: "What good is it if you win the world but your soul is damaged?"

6. realizing humanity

The sixth level is the highest you can reach. Because at this point you have realized being human. Dieter Lange: "Our answer to the question "Why do you actually work" must come from here. As long as you do something "in order ... to", you are living past life. But on this level you understand that the joy lies in the doing itself. Here you again experience pride in work and become absorbed in your work."

Contra Burnout: Why you should work for the joy of doing

It is precisely this self-image that you must regain. Or as Dieter Lange says: "We have to enjoy the journey, because the journey is the destination. Nothing against goals, they set actions in motion. But the joy is not in arriving, but always in going." So the dominance of the ego has to step back. Dieter Lange: "It's not about having or doing, it's about being. Do things for the joy of doing!"

Ask yourself what question or challenge you are the answer to in your company! Try to find your Life goals as a chapter of a book, and find out what the title of the book of your life is. Dieter Lange states, "The purpose of every success is: to grow and contribute. Or in other words, to grow from your tasks and contribute to a world you want to live in."

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