"To love what you do and feel that it matters, how on earth could anything be more fun?"
--Katherine Graham I want to share with you a great success story from one of my clients, Susan*, because I am so proud of her. Susan had been working in the computer industry since college (8-10 years) and though she was financially and professionally successful, she felt dissatisfied with her career. Her heart was just not in it anymore. Susan did a brave thing - she decided to make the effort to pursue a career change right now. For about six months we worked together to uncover her core interests, identify her values, test her natural abilities, and outline the parameters required for fulfilling work for her. It wasn't easy and the process took time but Susan tells me it was well worth the effort. Susan has started a new career that now fits WHO she is along with what she believes in, and what she can do. Susan moved from computer programming into bio-informatics and is now working on a life saving new medical product. Susan had always had an interest in biology and human medicine. Sadly, she had put her interests and values on the shelf, like many of us, because the job market was tight when she entered the work force. Susan called me last week, after her first day at her new job in bio-informatics. She left me a message. In it she said: "I wanted to let you know I had the best day at work that I think I have ever had. It was just unbelievable." Congratulations Susan! Congratulations for standing up to the doldrums and not accepting a lifetime of unsatisfying work. Life is just too short to be unhappy with your work. When we are unhappy in our work our friendships and relationships suffer, our physical health suffers and our mental health suffers. Everyone deserves work-life satisfaction. Afterall, our work takes up at least one half of our waking hours in life. So now I ask you: are you happy in your work? If you are - you have a gift! If not, what are you going to do about it? *The names have been changed in this article to ensure client confidentiality. |
