This blog post has been authored by Stand Out Online Member Tanja Senica, Hit Splits Coaching
We spend one third (1/3, yes!) of our adult life at work. This equals anywhere between 90,000 and 120,000 hours in the course of a lifetime. The question is: Do you want to work to live or live to work?
Do you love or hate your current work? Is it a job or a career? Maybe a calling?
Definition of the Word “Work”:
– An activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.
– A task or tasks to be undertaken; something a person or thing has to do.
What I understand is that we NEED to work to fulfill our basic needs. Our work is literally a means to an end. Indeed, we HAVE to work to earn money with which we ensure that our basic needs, as presented by the Maslow pyramid, are met. Those needs are physiological such as for example food, water, warmth, and rest, as well as safety and security. In other words, we are making sure that we have a safe roof over our head and something to put in our belly.
In the Western world, and this certainly encompasses North America (just in case you weren’t sure), our basic needs are pretty much always met. The percentage of people whose basic needs are not met, is minimum. If you are reading this article, we can move on to the next level. Maslow describes the next level as the psychological needs such as socializing with friends and enjoying intimate relationships, as well as having a relatively high level of esteem. So far so good?
However, what happens when those needs are met too? What happens when you are done with school, when you become an engineer, a lawyer, a doctor? Or even when you find a lovable significant other and you both agree that it would be a great idea to get married and live happily ever after?
What happened that you landed here, on this page? Are you currently questioning your job, your relationship, maybe your lifestyle? Are you missing something? Rest assured, you are not alone. Many people ask important existential questions every day. Hey, it even happened to me.
There are Two Types of People:
Let’s take Robin who is comfortable in being comfortable, who is complacent and happy with the status quo. Robin doesn’t really want to change anything. And then there is Jamie. When Jamie gets comfortable, you can feel the inside agitation and impatience. Jamie always strives for more, for that higher level, and is always ready to shake things up.
Which one of them do you identify with more? Is it the safe-playing Robin or the action-loving Jamie?
Which one of them do you think believes that following your passion is the answer? Which one of them is more likely to reach for the next level? Maybe you are asking yourself now: What is the next level? Great question. The answer is simple, and if you just scroll up to Maslow pyramid again, you will find it right on top: achieving one’s full potential by letting your creativity out.
“Uuugh but Tanja, I’m not a creative person!!”
I hear ya! I’m not either. Or so I thought. Creativity does not mean being able to draw and be the best in DIY. It can mean a 1001 thing and it is totally up to YOU to discover YOUR way of expressing it. And when it comes to the full potential—Rome wasn’t born in a day, right?! Of course, it could happen overnight, like this great eureka epiphany moment. However, it mostly takes a couple of trial and error experiments. Or you could hire a coach and bring that trial and error down to a minimum. Especially in this highly complex area of our life called “work”.
One thing that I have recently learned: remove all the NEED and HAVE TOs and replace them with WANT. And then ask yourself: “What do I really WANT to do for 1/3 of my life?” BOOM, you will have the passion talking, and the smooth process of unleashing your great potential can begin. Or in the words of the Chinese philosopher Confucius:
“Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
In conclusion, let me admit: I have gone the long way, it took me almost three decades to figure out my real passion. And still some people would say I was fast—for many only get to listen and follow their passion at the age of 70 or later. Lucky for you, I now have the tools to help you not only discover but also follow your career improvement or transition step by step. Because following your passion truly is the answer.
Tanja Senica is a career and lifestyle coach. She went from a “stable” 9-5 corporate job with a Master’s degree in translation and interpreting to being an independent boss lady with 2 businesses (and growing). She is passionate about what she does and brings a smile to every occasion. She empowers ladies to step into their power and create the time-space freedom with financial abundance they desire and deserve!