Image Source: Keyin College, http://keyin.ca/program/welder/
Like me, you’ve probably read too often that famous cliché “Do what you love, love what you do”.
I’ve written already in the past why I think it is a clichéd, elitist concept but hey – feel free to wag your finger at me and quote Steve Jobs like you knew him from prom night.
2015 has been an extremely interesting and entertaining year as far as career lessons go for many people I know, myself included.Today in fact, was another one of those days. Let’s start with a story of a boy:
A boy finds a job doing what he loves but has trouble keeping up with the pace.
A boy encounters strife at work, and is easily upset.
A boy decides to quit the second time he gets a firm telling off by his superior for not keeping up to mark.
Here’s an alternative:
A boy finds a company where fun people work at and makes quick friends.
A boy finds the work hard to do, but doesn’t want to ask questions because he’s afraid he’ll look stupid. Instead, a boy will decide that he is safer concocting stories about what he’s doing and done, and use his relationships at work to cover his mistakes.
A boy is under tremendous stress after a telling off by his boss, and decides that he is better off without a job instead of a job with people who don’t sympathise with his problems.
So who’s right, and who’s wrong?
In a recent tele-drama, a policeman was ready to commit suicide for something he felt awful about. His colleague who was trying to talk him out of it, told him this:
“So you’re going to quit when things get tough. What will your kids think? That quitting is their only option because Dad quit. Well, eventually the tough times will come.”
Everyone quits for their own reasons, who are we to judge? Some things though – especially when it involves letting down the people who believe in you, who root for you despite – is downright frustrating. It’s not about being a quitter …. when you examine it whichever way, it’s about a person who lacks the integrity to face the music and overcome strife to become better.
It is about having the courage – even when you’re very, very scared – to face intensity and earn your stripes with grace.
It is about biting down and sticking your foot in – even when people tell you you can’t – because you won’t back away from liars and bullies.
It is about putting yourself through the rite of passage – no matter how many times you’ve done in all kinds of situations – so you can be a wiser, more capable, more enlightened person.
It is about a consistent desire for emancipation.
And that is more powerful and more meaningful, than just doing what you love. Especially when not everyone has the privilege to do what they love.
That is the real differentiator between someone who makes work wondrous and makes wondrous work.
Melcontentious 