Some people have recently lost their jobs, others are concerned with the uncertainty of whether or not they are keeping their jobs, and others are wondering if they have to make some changes and pursue something more aligned to their purpose in life. Those are three different professional situations with a common factor which is the anxiety and frustration generated by thinking about the work they don’t have, the one they have at the moment or the one they would like to have in the near future.
As a skilled immigrant having lived several years of my adult life in three different countries has forced me to reinvent myself.
I have felt many times frustration, confusion, and fear of having to start from scratch in professional markets where I did not feel competitive and where I did not know useful social codes to adapt to my new working environment.
Something that helped me define my life from another angle and also, allowed me to live my working day-to-day life in a different way was something that I learned from Elizabeth Gilbert, a fabulous writer who proposes an interesting perspective to define three words that are easily confused and have a huge effect on how we perceive ourselves and our reality.
Work, Career & Purpose.
Job: You have to have one!! We live in consumer societies and we all have financial obligations, we need to pay the rent, do our grocery shopping pay for children’s education, anyway… work is basically an exchange of time and skills for money with a third party. I would describe it, as a means to an end!
What I have perceived through conversations with many of my clients, is that, in most cases, people who have jobs do not understand this agreement.
Your job "is just a job" and it does not necessarily have to make you feel accomplished and it does not necessarily have to be the most incredible job in the world. Your job must generate an income!
I had jobs that I did not enjoy, jobs where I felt my values were not aligned with theirs, others that I liked, but always I received what was promised, a salary in exchange or doing what they hired me to do in the best possible way of course!
Career: You do not necessarily need to have one! And it is very important that you understand the difference between job and career because this is the concept, where I have seen many professionals get confused and start having professional crises in which they feel the need to change careers, industry or profession.
The career is a job for which you feel completely passionate and willing to go the extra mile. When you are building a career, you are willing to make sacrifices, you visualize yourself on that path and it is gratifying.
There is a secret for a professional life without frustrations! You don’t have to aim to become the number one in your company, you don’t have to manage a team of hundreds, and you don’t have to climb the corporate ladder!
Purpose: Purpose is something deeper, it is a calling. It is what you do because you want to impact because you want to generate change, transform, inspire other people ...
The purpose is an inner force that only depends on you, nobody can take it from you ... Think about it ... someone can do the work you do, we all know people can be replaced at work. Someone may be just as passionate as you in their career and get better results, but nobody competes with your purpose.
In my case, since I was little, I felt that my purpose was to impact the lives of others in a positive way… some of my jobs kept me close to my purpose, others totally distanced me, but after several years my purpose became my career ... Before that I only had jobs!
If you are confusing your job, your career, and your purpose, you are generating unnecessary burdens. We live in a material world and if what you have today is just a job, well, take it as it is! In the meantime, keep seeking your purpose, is that is what you are after!
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