Friday's Inspiration Weekly Working For a Living, Working At Life

Appetizers:

• Douglas William Jerrold, Ugly Trades

• Adelaide Anne Procter, Philip and Mildred

Entrée: I've Sold My Soul To My Job! by Debi Bogard

Is your job sucking the life out of you? Do you feel like you've sold your soul to your work? If so, you're not alone. Studies show that many Americans, up to 90% of us, are unhappy with our current job. Does this sound familiar? Here's the danger: the discouragement that comes from merely surviving your career can become an immobilizing distraction.

In Homer's Odyssey, Sirens, with irresistible influence, lured mariners to destroy themselves on the rocks. Ulysses knew he would not be able to resist the distraction of the Sirens, so he had his men put wax plugs in their ears to elude the destructive song. He bound himself to the mast so he could not follow the devastating influence of their words. He depended upon the crew's vision, strength and persistence to prevent his own distraction from ending their journey.

An overwhelming, all-consuming job can feel just as controlling as the sirens did to Ulysses. Maybe you feel stuck - like you're spending your life on something you just can't stand. You want to find something new and fulfilling but can't seem to take the first step.

When my son was young and I told him to go clean his room, he would sit in his room, crying. The job was just too big for him to tackle and he couldn't even begin. If I told him to put away 3 things he would do it cheerfully, in 2 minutes. He could pick up 3 things at a time until his room was clean. By breaking one disheartening job into several simple steps, he was able to complete the task that, before, stopped him from doing anything.

Finding a fulfilling job can be reduced to a few manageable steps that will keep you moving toward your goal.

1. Decide what you want. Set your goals, envision your target and do something every day to obtain it.
2. Update your career marketing documents. Your resume cannot be outdated or average - it must be outstanding! You have a recruiter's not-so-undivided attention for only 30 seconds in which your resume is either SINGLED OUT or TOSSED OUT.
3. Strategically plan your search. Learn the latest tips for searching online. Find a way to network that is comfortable for you. Prepare and practice for upcoming interviews so your potential employer will know exactly why they must hire you.
4. Don't let discouragement distract you. Find someone to support you when you get pulled off course, stopped in your tracks or sent back to square one.

Ulysses partnered with someone (the men with ear plugs) to keep his ship on course and restrained himself knowing he could not withstand the distraction. The sirens died when Ulysses' ship sailed beyond them. Discouragement also dies once you move beyond it. The key is to NOT be diverted by the distraction of discouragement but instead cruise by, Right on course.

You are the captain of your ship! If stress, frustration and guilt, from the job you have, are not the life components you crave, then the time to change that is right now! Do one thing today to put control of your career, and your life, back in your hands.

It's up to you!

About the author:

Stop merely surviving your career and find out how to claim, "I, not my employer, am in charge of me being happily employed." Debi Bogard is a Certified Career Management Coach who helps frazzled professionals develop a rewarding career that also allows time for themselves and their families. Call Debi at (877) 460-7271 to schedule your complimentary coaching session - no strings and no obligation - just a gift. Visit www.careerformulas.com and receive a free "Quick Start Guide".

Second Helping: Brainpower for the Overwhelmed by Eileen McDargh

Walk into the room and can't find your keys? Or forget why you entered the room in the first place? Wondering what has happened to your short term memory? Feel overwhelmed by information, people, to-do lists and demands on your time?

You very well could be suffering from SAAD- situational attention deficit disorder, a term coined by Anderson Consulting Institute for Strategic Change. Specifically, most of us are now in situations in which we are bombarded by so many demands for our attention that our brains close down.

It's a phenomenon of our time. Our brains, evolved over eons to respond to our environment and each other are exponentially being taxed by the growth in information and technology. Everyone and everything is vying for attention. We are hardwired to respond but when it's deluged like that, the brain just "goes blind". Engineers discovered this phenomenon when they installed hundreds of communication devices in cockpits, thinking it would improve the pilot's performance. Instead, when the pilots performance decreased.

Information and technology will not go away. But there are ways to turn from "SAAD" to glad:

• Determine your priorities and focus on them.
  Don't let yourself be pulled into anything from meetings, to readings, to conversations that thwart your priorities. Literally block out space on your daily to-do list for things that are important to you: from projects, to exercise, to family time. Hold these times as sacred.
• Say "no" to answering every message.
  The average American receives 201 phone, paper, and e-mail messages a day. Take care of those that are priority and let the rest drop off. Ignore the messages that are uninvited and unnecessary.
• Let technology work for you in prioritizing.
  Called ID and voice mail can allow you to screen calls. For those who depend upon business coming in via phone and need to take every call, develop a way to shorten incoming sales calls. Telemarketing calls that come in via a computer dial-up have a few seconds of silence before a voice is heard. If that's the case, just hang up. If you are solicited, ask them to please out your name on the DO NOT call list. And then hang up.
• Create a centering place.
  Whether it is in the silence of your car, or in a shower, or closing your door, take 15 minutes per day to practice paying attention to ONE thing: your breathing, a flower, a fish tank. Like the muscle in our bodies, the brain gets strong I the places where we train it. Focus turns SADD into glad!

Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE, is an international speaker, author and seminar leader. Her book Work for A Living and Still Be Free to Live is also the title of one of her most popular and upbeat programs on Work/Life Balance. She is fun, funny, relevant and provocative, drawing upon practical business know-how, life's experiences and years of consulting to major national and international organizations. Her stimulating, interactive presentations promote self-discovery and creative solutions to everyday situations - in the workplace and at home. For more information on Eileen and her presentations, please call (949)496-8640 or visit Eileen's Website.

Soup to Nuts: From the Feedback Button

Cyngos sent feedback about a comment I made in From the Feedback Button, two weeks ago: "Please keep writing for yourself, so I can reap the benefits. You have a fabulous e-zine and I look forward to it every week. Thank You!"

Sally wrote to me about Determined Optimism - By the Numbers! and said, "You want to know what I think about this last one, huh? Well, I like the 3 key elements of living your life. The first one is most important, and one thing that I see within your weekly inspiration is that it is rather long. I personally like a quick uplifting story or inspiring words, and to read the whole thing sometimes is a little over whelming in this faced paced world. I know, for myself, it is hard to read from the computer as well, so less is better. The other aspects of balance and empowerment are needed."

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The Whine List: Enjoy this week's whine with Reichsgraf von Kesselstatt 2001 Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Reisling Kabinett. Now, say that fast three times...

Main Course: A Few Thoughts From a Working Man...

Oliver Wendell Holmes said that what lies behind us and what lies before us are but tiny matters compared to what lies within us. What lies within me is a creative soul, one brimming with ideas, eager to express them in my work and personal life. I am fortunate to work in the fast-paced world of construction engineering where several opportunities arise, throughout the day, to offer creative solutions to problems. I am doubly blessed to have the opportunity to write this newsletter and share my thoughts with you.

It is the hands of brave but forgotten individuals that have made this world a great place to be alive. Each person that ever felled a tree, erected a building, toiled in the field, or kept a home and raised children, every one of them contributed to the greatness of this world. Work is that which ennobles mankind, and makes sacred the living of one's life. All the patience, perseverance, faithfulness, method, insight, ingenuity, energy and strength each worker has is boldly written in the work each does.

But, all (job-related) work and no play makes Michael a dull boy. There has to be more to define me, as a person, than that which I do to earn a living. Ellen Galinsky of Families and Work Institute offers a different approach to finding a balance between work and personal life, one that is "dual-centric" instead of an either/or balance. She states that the most successful individuals in both business and home life place an equal amount of emphasis on both, and fully focus on what is happening, wherever they may find themselves.

It is possible for work to enhance my life off the job, and the reverse should also be true. It is not just a matter of managing my time, of which I have a finite amount - satisfaction with both work and personal life also involves the amount of energy it put into it, and mood or attitude I approach it with.

The most important thing I can do is to assess and decide about my priorities. Lydia H. Sigourney stated, "There can be no persevering industry without a deep sense of the value of time." It takes time to get started in the morning, and I need to allow myself time to prepare for the day's work and personal activities. It takes time to grow, and I need to remember to stop and sharpen my spiritual and professional tools if I want them to be sharp, effective and productive. It takes time to be healthy, and I must remember to get enough rest, exercise and proper nutrition. I need to take time to play, and to make time for being quiet. And, I absolutely must give of my time to those I love, for without them, my life would be so much the poorer.

What it amounts to, no matter how I see it, is that life is work, whether it is with the hands or the mind. Work done with the heart, on the job or at home, is to enjoy life as it passes, and to be a student in the school of earthly education. I am in training for nobler endeavors, and spheres of higher activity in the hereafter.

Before I let you go, have a look at the HardAtWork website. It was a delightful discovery during this week's research.

• Michael Rawls, Friday's Inspiration © 2003

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Peace and Light,

Michael@N-Spire.com