Moving from a Boring, Life-Draining Job to Work You Love and that Feeds Your Spirit
"I think most of us are looking for a calling, not a job. Most of us, like the assembly line worker, have jobs that are too small for our spirit. Jobs are not big enough for people."
Nora Watson
In a survey conducted by Life On Purpose Institute, Inc. one of the highest ranking life issue or challenges was job dissatisfaction. It appears that people are working more and enjoying it far less. Few things in life can be more frustrating or stressful than being in a job you hate yet can't seem to leave without creating even more stress and frustration by not being able to pay the bills.
Talk about a Catch-22 situation. Do you presently find yourself in a boring, life-draining job (or recently downsized from it)? But every time you explore getting another job, everyone expects you to do essentially the same kind of work. And the jobs that look most exciting, you don't have any previous experience or training in? Do you feel trapped in such a vicious career circle?
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It's Time to Put the Horse Before the Cart Where It Belongs
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I'm going to suggest a shift in perspective. I'm suggesting there's nothing wrong with your life and not even anything wrong with the way the system is set up. Instead, perhaps you simply have the cart before the horse.
I honestly believe that the reason so many people are unhappy with their jobs is because they started working without first knowing who they truly are and why they are here on Earth.
In other words, they don't know their life purpose.
After all, most of us had to start work pretty young in life, many times decades before wondering about the purpose or meaning to our lives. You may have first gone to work as a teenager for a little extra spending money without thinking much about what kind of work you'd be doing. You just wanted some way to make enough money to do the other fun things in your life. But, before you knew it you had to go work to make a living — to pay the bills, and put food on the table. It's likely the notion of finding work that nurtures your soul and spirit didn't even flash across your radar screen.
And before you knew it you were trapped in the vicious circle of a deadening job.
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A Case of Mistaken Identity
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Or you might have thought your work was your life purpose, which is another common trap many people fall into. Take my dentist's father for example:
When my dentist learned that I was a life purpose coach, his first remark
was, "Boy, my father could sure use you." He went on to explain that his
father had been a prominent and successful physician in the community for
close to 40 years, but recently had to stop working due to his health. "He's
miserable. He feels like he has no purpose in living."
This can also happen with the roles you play in life. What happens when you mistakenly think your role as parent is your life purpose and then all your kids grow up and leave home? Your purpose moves out with them. The empty-nest syndrome often results in a very empty feeling as well– the emptiness of not having any real meaning and purpose in your life.
So, I’m suggesting that your life purpose isn’t what you do, nor the roles you play in life. But, if you've been thinking this way, you have simply had the cart before the horse, and you're likely to stay stuck in that boring job that doesn't nurture your spirit.
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But What if You Don't Have a Clue What You True Purpose in Life Is?
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You may be asking yourself, "Well, if my life purpose isn't what I do then what is it? If it's not my job or career, and it's not even the roles I play in life, like being a good parent, employee, or spouse — than what is it?
Those really are key questions — questions which start you traveling down a new Purposeful Path. And once you're on the path it's inevitable that you will eventually gain clarity of purpose as long as you remain on the path and engage in the process.
Of course, this process often takes years, even decades, especially if, in the meantime, you remain stuck in work that numbs the heart and mind. All of which is complicated further if you're surrounded by a bunch of other people caught in the very same trap, who may be so resigned about it, that they aren't even fully aware how trapped they are.
Sound familiar?
The good news is that waking up to what's been missing is a key first step. But where do you go from there?
The next step really depends how ready, willing and able you are to proceed. It's likely that if you've read this far, there's something about what you've been reading that resonates with you. It may even have upset you a bit as you've realized how long you've allowed yourself to be remain trapped. If so, the questions really are:
"Are you going to do anything about it? If so, what?"
I'd like you to try on one other thought. I'd like you to consider that it's no accident that you and I have been connected in this way. I'd like for you to consider that perhaps, just perhaps you were guided to read this article so you could begin to answer those last questions. And here is why I'm saying this.
About 13 years ago, I started down my own purposeful path, after having spent the first 40+ years caught in my own purposeless trap that led me to the brink of suicide.
My new path eventually led me to clarifying my own life purpose. You see, an integral part of my life purpose is the possibility of all people living purposeful, passionate and playful lives of service. What I mean by that is that I truly feel it's possible and paramount for each of us to know our life purpose. When we do, that purpose becomes fueled by our passion for living it fully and playfully in the service of others.
Does that make sense to you? Does that resonate with you at a deep, soulful level? If so, I'd like to offer several ways you can move forward along your own purposeful path to clarifying your live purpose so you can live true to it. By the way, it is also the path out of the vicious career trap. How do I know? Because, not only have I followed that path, but I've been privileged to work with thousands of others, serving as their guide along the Purposeful Path as a life purpose coach.
It is to this that I have dedicated my life. It's why I founded Life On Purpose Institute. It's one of the major ways I express and fulfill on my own life purpose. So, here are 3 ways you can move yourself forward along the path. We'll start with some 'dip you toe in the water' steps and move on up to a 'taking the plunge' steps.
Dip Your Toe Option #1: The Life On Purpose Process that is the foundation upon which all the LOPI work is based is thoroughly outlined in the book, Life On Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspire
d Life.
Dip Your Toe Option #2: If you want further support in clarifying your life purpose, consider one of the versions of the Life On Purpose Home Study Course (which includes a copy of the book and much more). Pick the version that would best serve you.
Take the Plunge Option: If you know that it's really going to take more support than either of the two choices above ('cause you have books and home courses on your shelf that you've never completed), then consider putting a Life On Purpose Coach in your corner. For further info and to schedule an initial coaching consultation to go one of this pages:
Learn more about my coaching services here
Learn more about Ann's coaching services here
Oh, and there is one other option: Do Nothing. Of course, this is always an option, though as you have probably already figured out, taking no action won't have you proceeding down the Purposeful Path. It will simply keep you stuck where you are. (And how's that working out for you?)
So my question to you is this: will taking no action really serve you? Remember, the common definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That includes not taking action over and over. So, I encourage you to take some action — some small or large step for yourself. If you aren't sure what the next step should be, give me a call at (828) 697-9239 or drop me an email at admin@wbradfordswift.com/lop. I'm here to be of service, and to assist you as you travel down your Purposeful Path. So, give me a call.
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