The key to countering stress at work and beyond

When I was a boy, my mother taught me a simple but profound principle that has shaped my life and work ever since. She told me that the ancient Jewish philosophy of “Tikkun Olam” was the best way to live a meaningful life of purpose. I’ve taken that idea to heart, and I’ve always strived to understand the deep meaning of Tikkun Olam and make my work live up to this high standard.

The Hebrew phrase Tikkun Olam simply and beautifully means “repairing the world.” The basic idea is that the world is naturally imperfect—and it is our responsibility as its inhabitants to work individually and collectively to continuously repair it.

In this day and age of anxiety, the world needs repair. Younger generations are facing particularly intense challenges entering the workforce amidst global uncertainties, leading to higher rates of stress, anxiety, and burnout.

One of my mentors at Stanford University, Albert Bandura, pioneered the concept of self-efficacy: the belief that you can take action to change your circumstances. Essentially, self-efficacy is the opposite of helplessness. From Bandura, I learned that the best cure for anxiety and fear is action, and Tikkun Olam offers a profoundly simple directive for action.

Tikkun Olam can be viewed as an act of mindful entrepreneurship. Perhaps that’s why so many entrepreneurs offer great examples of Tikkun Olam in action. Take Kris Tompkins, the former CEO of Patagonia, whose love of the outdoors helped her see a need to not only conserve land but restore biodiversity and “rewild” the land, and committed time and money to restoration in Chile and Argentina. Her work helped to protect more than 14 million acres of parkland in those countries.

Of course, you don’t have to have millions of dollars or a corporate responsibility team to engage in acts of Tikkun Olam. If you participate in a Buy Nothing Group, or Little Free Library, or another place where people freely share what they have with others who might need it, that’s a form of Tikkun Olam. Mentoring someone is also Tikkun Olam, as is a simple act of kindness.

In the Jewish tradition, Tikkun Olam has been interpreted in many ways—philanthropy, social justice work, and simple acts of kindness can all be considered forms of Tikkun Olam. But whatever form your acts of repair take, it gives you a sense of purpose and drive that can counteract the pervasive anxiety and fear of our times.

Practicing Tikkun Olam is about changing your mindset. It involves identifying and becoming aware of the physical, social, and spiritual “brokenness” and imperfection around us, and actively working to heal it. It’s about seeing a problem and taking an action, even a small action, to help to fix it.

The hidden beauty of Tikkun Olam is that it not only helps those in need but also has positive benefits for the person doing the repairing. Research has shown that engaging in altruistic behavior can improve mental and physical health, increase happiness, and reduce stress. By helping to heal the world around us, we can also begin to heal ourselves.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote about the definition of success, and his words perfectly encapsulate the spirit of Tikkun Olam:

“To give of oneself; to leave the world a better place, whether by raising a healthy child, tending to a garden patch, or improving social conditions. To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived is to have succeeded.”

We rarely connect the stress and anxiety from work to the impact we’re having on the world around us, but I believe it’s time for this to change.