I was reading a LinkedIn article by J. T. O’Donnell and some stats she quoted jumped out at me:
72% of workers would rather work for themselves
86% plan to actively look for a new job this year
Here is a tip… it you want to work for yourself you won’t find THAT in a job search. I have often times to people with a BS in Entrepreneurship that they didn’t need a degree to be an entrepreneur. Why do we always think that happiness will come when we are running things or with that next promotion, relationship, or job? I will tell you why… because happiness happens TO us. That’s right. I will be happy when… relies on someone or something else.
If the problem is not me, I can’t fix it.
When we realize that no one owes us anything then we are on the right track. I have found that if I am not happy, I am probably not fulfilling my intended purpose in life. Talking to people about their purpose is like talking about past lives. Ever notice that people who believe they have lived past lives have usually been someone important? I have never heard anyone say “yeah, in my past life I worked in a coal mine and before that I was an indentured servant.” Coincidence? Same goes with purpose. I don’t hear people say their purpose in life is to encourage others, unless they are a motivational speaker and they get paid for it. Ever thought that you can fulfill your purpose in spite of your job? Many people do but most do not. We let our work define us rather than our purpose.
Nice to meet you, what do you do?
If you keep looking for happiness you will find it, only to lose it again. But joy can be maintained. To me happiness is caused by external forces but joy comes from within. Dan Gilbert talks about happiness in his TED Talk. Dan shows that happiness consistently wears off. So what are we to do about this?
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
You could continue changing jobs ever two to three years chasing the RIGHT position. Or you could start your own business and let it own you. But I think God wants us to figure out what brings us joy then get busy doing THAT! We don’t have to do the thing that brings us joy all day every day. We don’t even have to get paid for it. If you don’t know where to start and you want to feel joy, help someone else. Making someone HAPPY will bring you JOY.
So before you start your 2016 off by looking for another job take a minute and reflect… where is the problem?
Al
2016 New Year Resolution #1: Be more awesome than last year