Bob Murphy might have felt like a jock sitting between academics, but it’s hard to imagine more eloquent words put to the love shared between a footballer and the game.

As part of a breakfast panel exploring what provides meaning in the workplace, Murphy spoke of a duality between his present and seven-year-old self, where his passion for the game is driven by a need to satisfy the love he remembers as a child.

“It’s almost liked a debt you are repaying to this little kid. It doesn’t feel like work most of the time, it’s fun for me,” he says.

Murphy considers being an AFL footballer as “winning the golden ticket” but like everyone, he admits there are moments where he would rather be somewhere else.

“I cant wait to jump out each morning but there are times where it does feel like work and there will be once a week where I look at myself running around Footscray in the middle of winter wearing tights and think this is no way for an old man to act.

“I cant wait to jump out each morning but there are times where it does feel like work and there will be once a week where I look at myself running around Footscray in the middle of winter wearing tights and think this is no way for an old man to act” – Bob Murphy.

“The good far outweighs those moments and I think there is a certain sense of freedom, in a Peter Pan sort of way, where the lunch time bell rang when I got drafted and it’s never finished – one continuous lunchtime kick to kick.”

When asked what gives his life meaning beyond his profession, Murphy nominates his two, soon to be three, children who have changed his perspective in his transition from pup to old dog.

“When I first started playing I used to listen to the older guys who had kids and they would say that even after a 100-point flogging they used to walk into their house and their kids would run up to them and they’d forget all about it.

“I used to think that was bullshit, I know they think that sounds good, but there is no way that could be reality. Thankfully now that I have children, I know that is almost absolutely true.”

Murphy has welcomed another love into his life in recent years. While he traditionally does his best work in red, white and blue, it’s in black and white Murphy has began to develop a following of a different kind.

“I’ve been blessed, kids give you that balance, but also I see myself even luckier because since writing a newspaper column for The Age that has given me a creative outlet beyond AFL footy that I didn’t have and yearned for a little bit.”

Murphy believes having multiple things that provide meaning to one’s life is crucial to maintaining balance, particularly in an industry like AFL, where such an emphasis is placed on the game itself. He continually strives to explore in his teammates the things that provide meaning from them.

“Not something that ticks a box, but to find something that is really in their heart and they are passionate about.”

Murphy was speaking on a panel at an AFL Players’ Association Meaning @ Work breakfast alongside other guests including Associate Professor of Psychology from Colorado State University, Michael Steger.

The breakfast was held in combination with wellbeing services The Mind Room and Mind 360 where the dialogue of the morning surrounded the concept of ikigai.

Ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy) is a Japanese word meaning “a reason for being” or “a reason to get up in the morning”.

According to Japanese culture everyone has an ikigai, although uncovering it often requires a deep search of self. This search is regarded as an important and worthy pursuit, since it is believed that discovery of one’s ikigai brings satisfaction and meaning to life.