What is your BFW? Your Big Fat Why? What is it for the career decision you made? If you're a Social Worker or another profession, or a worker in the Social Care sector, what is your BFW that keeps you still in the game? Or if you have a side hustle or any other professional career path, what is your BFW?
In this article, we explore the benefits of a flourishing approach regarding our views about the profession we chose for our careers and its impact on career duration. Flourishing was born out of positive psychology as an alternative to traditional psychology, which typically focuses on trying to fix what's wrong with people. The science of Flourishing focuses on how to help people build on their strengths to achieve more successful outcomes. It seeks to optimize positive emotions, positive relationships, engagement, accomplishments, meaning, and health.
My hope for the Social Work profession is that more Social Workers remain in the field for longer. To that end, I hope that we see Social Workers flourish, along with the teams and organizations in which they work, thereby increasing confidence and trust in the Social Work profession.
Take yourself back to the reason for your career decision: was it a career choice among many options, or few? Was it a result of a life struggle, a stressful time, or a trauma in your life? Or was it born from something joyful? Was there something or someone who inspired you to make this decision? Or did something else happen that connected you to a sense of purpose for the betterment of others or a big idea? To make a difference in the world?
What was the seed idea that prompted you to invest your time and money to grow in your career path or mission?
Take a moment to truly connect back to that seed decision, that sense of purpose. What was your BFW? Does your BFW still resonate with you? How do you feel about your career decision now? Do you feel empowered, still on a mission, or something else?
Use this moment to reflect on how far you’ve come and note your answers to these questions in a paper journal, a journal app, or the notes app on your phone:
What’s been going well for you in your profession?
What could be going better?
What do you wish to see change going forward?
What do you hope for your profession?
What matters most to you about your profession?
For Social Workers, a core value of their work is being a catalyst for transformation—both for the individuals and families they serve and also for themselves. Our passion is to help empower people to become more independent and self-determined. What is the core value of your profession or career choice? What do you do that really matters to you? What makes a difference to you, to someone else, or gives you a reason to go to work?
Our capacity to transform in the face of adversity is more likely when we're in a state of resilience rather than chronic stress. Whatever profession or career path we have taken, as humans seeking to flourish, we must cultivate good, conscious habits around resting well, sleeping well, eating well, and moving well. I know that, as Social Workers dedicated to the change of others, we tend to give, give, and give our attention to others and are at risk of neglecting our own well-being. With the never-ending task list, it's often difficult to step off the automation unless we commit to taking little, frequent self-care breaks, often supported by technology.
Otherwise, we risk overwhelming our emotional reservoirs, causing burnout, and putting so much stress on our nervous system that we end up in survival mode—also known as fight, flight, or freeze. The undertone of this mode is fear. Stress activates our shadow side. We are more likely to fear something bad happening, develop a negative perspective, and become problem-oriented. This is not what we need in Social Work or any line of work, and it diminishes our BFW!
The reality is that, in Social Work and undoubtedly in any profession, we are super busy and all at risk of being in survival mode. Many of us may already be in survival mode and just don't know it yet because a central role of our autonomic nervous system is to help us adjust to adversity and enable us to cope. However, this system is only designed for short-term adjustment. As the high demand and high challenge persist, we need new awareness to inform a new approach and action.
We must use efficient, easy-to-use tools and techniques to enable us to keep flexing and adapting in the face of constant change and endless tasks. This will help us shift from a fear-based survival model of motivation to a flourishing-based model. We can start by raising our awareness through technology that measures our health—such as smartwatches that track our sleep and exercise. We can now measure our brainwaves and heartwaves to understand if we are in a health vitality pattern and what actions we can take to positively impact it. These tools are increasingly driven by AI.
While there is debate about the value and risks of AI in Social Work practice, if there is a role for AI in optimizing our well-being and efficiency, the opportunity might be to reduce the feeling of being a "headless chicken" and enable more meaningful, relationship-based work alongside personal development.
Transformation is about both doing something and being something. It might also involve letting go of something to create space for something better. Letting go of inner tension in favor of a state of peace. Letting go of a problem-focused mindset in favor of being resourceful and solution-focused. Letting go of skepticism in favor of hope and optimism. Letting go of the incessant chatter in the mind in favor of being grounded. Letting go of fear in favor of feeling safe and stable. Every action you take should spring from a fountain of authentic resilience, thereby increasing your agency and helping you become an agent of change in whatever field you work in. This is the mentality of a person who aspires to flourish.
For Social Workers, Social Care sector workers, and other professionals, we are all leaders—whether personally, professionally, or managerially. When we proactively work on ourselves, we show up with authentic resilience, fully present and attentive. This increases our connection with those we serve and our colleagues. A robust connection and working rapport enhance our service users/customers' capacity to learn and transform. We're also more likely to notice our own strengths and empower others in the pursuit of their desired outcomes. We are more likely to collaboratively lead key stakeholders and professionals involved. And we’re more inclined to remain compassionately detached and hopeful as we navigate the messy, non-linear process of progress toward desired outcomes. This is what flourishing sounds like.
Whether we call it the art or science of flourishing in Social Work, trust and hope will more likely persist in the pursuit of solutions—even when outcomes appear uncertain.
People who aspire to flourish pause to acknowledge and reflect on the multitude of small achievements that contribute to personal well-being and team morale. Neuroscience teaches us that dopamine, the reward-based feel-good neurochemical in the brain, is triggered when we recognize something going well—however small the achievement may be. Furthermore, we experience a variety of feel-good and well-being-enhancing neurochemicals when we are fully engaged, in flow, present, and doing meaningful work alongside our colleagues. That’s when a compassionate manager or leader and a spirited team matter most: to listen, support, and appreciate our struggles, challenges, and little/big wins. This too is what flourishing sounds like.
In short, for a sustainable BFW and to resist burnout, it's important to remember the original seed idea that sparked your sense of purpose and the core values that have followed. It’s vital to show up, both personally and professionally, with authentic resilience, making the most of time-saving well-being routines and tools that work effectively. It's critical to empower work environments with compassionate leadership at all levels and foster a collaborative team spirit, laying the groundwork for listening, support, and appreciation amid high challenges. All of this is vital for nurturing that sense of meaning, purpose, and BFW.
As for Social Work and working in the Social Care sector, I’m not saying it’s not stressful or easy, but how we show up—both personally and professionally—and the support we receive from managers, the team, and senior leaders can make it the right kind of stress: meaningful stress.
Work is changing. Not least due hybrid working and AI. If the future of work can contribute to us flourishing then perhaps more Social Workers will resist burnout and continue to work and grow confidence and meaning through the purposeful work they do.
We’re all in it together for the well-being of the people we serve, and with a commitment to the right approach, our own well-being can benefit too.
That is the essence of a sustainable BFW!
Authored by Jan Carpenter
Turn Over A New L.E.A.F.
(Gratefully inspired by Tim Fishers New Years post)
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