What is your notion of your ideal job? Here’s how I define
an ideal life: You wake up suffused with an ineffable feeling of joy, a sense
of well-being. You go to work, to a job you love so much that you would pay for
the privilege of doing it. You labor intently but are so focused that time flies
by unnoticed. At the end of the day, you are invigorated. You have a penetrating
awareness of the course you are charting, a knowledge of your place in the universe.
Your work feeds this, is congruent with it, and brings you great contentment and
peace.
Life is too short to waste in a job you are hanging on to because
it pays the bills. If you don’t come alive at the thought of doing what
you do, you are wasting your life.
You can craft your ideal job. How? You can become much more fulfilled
at your job than you could ever have imagined by doing these four exercises:
First, you must leave your “me-centered universe”
where you evaluate everything that happens in terms of its impact on you.
You hear about a traffic accident while driving, and your first thought is about
how much you will be delayed. Your spouse gets a great job offer, and you think
about how this will affect your relationship. Your daughter comes home with a
tattoo and nose rings, and you think about how your friends will react. You want
to “give back,” but you want to be recognized. When you live in a
“me-centered” universe, you face heartache, angst and disappointment.
The universe won’t play ball with you when you think that you are at the
center.
Second, when you are unhappy with your job, you are focusing
on all the things that are “wrong” with it and ignoring all the things
that are “right” with it. When you think about your
job, do you only think what is wrong with it? Do you think: “My boss is
toxic; my work is boring; my colleagues are malicious; my work is not appreciated;
I’m not learning or growing; I’m paid less money than I deserve?”
You likely have mixed feelings about your job: parts of it you like, and parts
you dislike—perhaps even hate. The frustration you feel is because you are
focusing on what you don’t have—on the things that trouble you at
work, on stuff that you would change if you could.
Next, think of the parts of your job that are fun and
rejuvenating. It may be calling on a particular customer, working with a certain
colleague, or participating in the company bowling league. Note
everything that leaves you reenergized—everything positive. Contemplate
this list and be grateful for each item. Feel the appreciation emanate out and
envelope you. Focus on what is right with your work. Think of what holds you there—the
salary, status, job title, the work itself. Be grateful for this.
Finally, identify one area in your work where you would
like to improve your skills and become more efficient. This should
involve some learning. Pick something where your success will result in increasing
the part of your work you most enjoy. For one month, focus on acquiring and applying
the skill you have identified. You can select the learning and the metric used
for evaluation—your performance goal. Evaluate your progress monthly.
The quest for your ideal job begins in your mind. The passion you
want to ignite is inside. You have control over how you experience your job. When
you honestly do these exercises, you will soon find yourself in your ideal job. PE
