Living sustainably and meaningfully
The crisis of sustainability is a crisis of meaning. It is also an opportunity to live and work more meaningfully.
So declared AUT Business School’s Professor Marjo Lips-Wiersma, who delivered a keynote at the recent M2Woman Journey to Excellence forum in Auckland.
The sustainability-focused event brought together hundreds of leaders, practitioners, and strategists from across New Zealand’s diverse business sector.
In a warmly received speech Marjo, who is AUT Professor of Ethics and Sustainability Leadership, forged a link between the challenges of sustainability and the ever-more-pressing need to “be our best selves”.
Drawing on her AUT research and vast experience working with organisations around the world, Marjo highlighted how the research-backed approach of living “meaningfully” aligns with the current needs of the planet and its inhabitants.
“The planet, our communities, our work, and our children need us to use our talents and be our best selves. They need us to weave connections outside of our immediate circle,” said Marjo. “They need us to make a difference where we can. To stay grounded, to face reality, and keep hope. All these ways of being and doing are also pathways to meaning.”
Marjo has helped companies around the world understand and experience first-hand the powers of living meaningfully. She co-founded the Map of Meaning International, a not-for-profit organisation and global community of researchers, subject matter experts, and certified practitioners who work together to co-create meaning-centered ways of living, working, and organising.
As Marjo’s evidence shows, the impact of living and working with “meaning” is profound.
“Through living meaningfully, we nourish ourselves, regenerate our planet, weave together communities, and instill hope and courage in our children.”