Finding the “Me” in Meaningful Work
November 10th, 2008. Published under The Ultimate You. No Comments.
According to Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, Outliers, the first key to career success is finding meaning in your work. Usually those who choose their employment wisely have few problems with this. They resist all of the usual influences that could lead them into a disappointing line of work: the pressure of living up to others’ expectations of them, the temptation to go for the easy or the quick money, the tendency to let the job market decide their careers for them.
Sometimes a valid reason exists for accepting an unsuitable job, but this should never be done without, at the same time, promising yourself to keep looking for a better one. Then share that promise with a trusted friend. This is someone who will ask you regularly how your job hunt is going and will remind you of the reasons why you never intended your present position to be permanent. Equally important, this person will serve as your personal cheerleader whenever the going gets tough.
While waiting for that perfect opportunity to surface, you also need to focus on the ways that your current work makes a positive difference in the lives of others. For example, one woman who was moving back into the work force after raising a child took an online tutoring position. While waiting for the job of her dreams to materialize–one that made optimal use of her master’s degree in psychology–she experienced the satisfaction of helping academically challenged youngsters.