Givin' It All You've Got
In order to find your voice or vocation, you may need to look at every area available to you. Your self-esteem can be assisted by moving to a healthier work environment, formally volunteering, informally volunteering, discovering more about your own personality and gifts, and taking an all-out stance to find a place, your place, in the world of work. It may take time and energy, but finding your voice and place will be one of the most rewarding endeavors of your life.
Leaving the Moment — Thinking Backward
Sometimes, our future lies in the past. It is the best indicator of what works and what does not. It is a great teacher. You can freely look back to see where you made a wrong turn, where you made a bad decision, where you did something that worked wonderfully, and where you did something that made yourself (and others) feel alive and vibrant.
Thinking backward can help you find your vocation, your joy in work. Think back to the first thing you ever wanted to be. Was it a firefighter, a law enforcement officer, a doctor, an astronaut? Why did you want to be that? If you aren't doing it now, what stopped you?
Think back to a job where you were truly happy and felt that you were making a difference. Is it still true? Does your current work bring you peace? If not, why? What did you have in the past that you do not have now? Looking back can be an important step in working forward.
Leaving the Moment — Thinking Forward
Leaving the moment also asks that you move to tomorrow and beyond. While the past is a great teacher, the future is where promise lives. Where do you want to be next month, in a year, in five years? What do you want your legacy to be? What are your pages in human history going to read? These questions are not only a part of the past, but are also a part of the future.
The worst job that you ever had can be the most important time of your life. The worst job can be the most effective, the clearest, and the most meaningful teacher of all. The worst job of your life, properly examined, lets you know what you don't want ever again.
An interesting but often scary thing to do is to consider the end of your life. Pretend for a moment that you have just passed away at the old age of ninety. What do you want people to say about you? What do you want your life to have meant? What do you want written in your obituary? This may seem morbid and strange, but thinking about this can help you clarify what really is most important to you.
If you seriously listen to your heart, examine what your strengths and weaknesses are, study your past, and make vocational decisions based on these things and based on your overriding life goals, the future can start at any moment of your choosing.
Working for money and working from the heart are very different, but carry several major common traits — to be successful in either, they both require your full-out talent, dedication, and energy. They both require that you understand your own role in the world, and they both can tremendously intensify your plan for healthy self-esteem.
