The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
I will admit it, I am struggling with my job right now. I can say this freely, because I see other posts with folks who are not grooving at their place of employment either. I have been here for a LONG time (15 years last year). I have done just about every job and I have grown up with this company. From 11 employees to over 250 now, all over the world. In the last year, the company has been sold from a private family to an investment company and along with that have been big changes. I feel out of my league now. I feel in over my head. Young, smart people all around and I feel old and fog brained!! I am too young to retire, but too old to feel like I fit in very well. And the kicker, the pay is really good for my area and finding another job is WAY out of my comfort zone right now. So I talk to my already retired husband who says, you need to keep working, and I know he is right. Then I got this in my Inbox the other day:
Without work all life goes rotten. -- Albert Camus
Most would not think of work as a prize. That is often due to the concept we have of work.
Work can be that of an artist, the work of creation. Such work is not the response to a whistle or the boring activity that follows a punched time card. Creative work is the fullest human expression of being alive. It comes from the inside out and has no boss other than an inner demand to create a thing of beauty that previously did not exist.
The primary task of human beings is to creatively work at making our lives a remarkable thing of beauty. Whether we be butcher, baker, or candlestick maker there is always the opportunity to make a truly creative effort of a life's work by pounding out our dents and polishing that which is already beautiful. When we understand that life is the medium and we are the canvas, our efforts to improve become an exciting challenge rather than a boring task.
I am grateful to have the opportunity and the strength to work. I will not resent my job.
This changed my thinking and I have read and reread it a few times now. I am grateful that I have a job and the strength to work!! I love that. So I am going with that. Gratitude all the way baby!! Thank you HP for this message of truth!!
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Bethany
"Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be." Abe Lincoln
Hi Bethany, so glad you found a way to reframe thinking about your job! When we are working, it is such a big part of our days that it's miserable when we don't feel good about the job.
I also had some rough times at my job in the last decade or so ... position that I loved eliminated in a reorganization, placed in another position in the same company but one that was much less satisfying and where I often felt in over my head. And I didn't realize it at the time, but my late AH's disease was becoming slowly but gradually worse. So times at home weren't so comfortable either.
One thing I did was take advantage of a company benefit and go back to school online for another degree. That helped me feel good about myself, because I am VERY good at going to school. It also was a great distraction from the uncomfortableness at home. Rather than trying to deal with the weird behavior, I had class and homework. That kept me going for the seven years it took to finish the degree, one course at a time.
As I came closer to graduating with my new degree, I began to worry about how I would distract myself when I no longer had homework. Then a couple of unexpected things happened. Some of the things I learned in my coursework were very applicable to my job, and these new skills have made me much more satisfied and recognized. At the same time, my AH's diseases -- alcoholism and others -- got much worse -- and that made me discover Alanon. So now I have a whole new program where I am learning skills for a successful life, not just the job part.
Thank you for the opportunity to reflect on "the job at hand."
Great post and great attitude adjustment! I no longer work outside the home but boy when I did, there were times when showing up was all I could do. It's such a challenge to spend 1/3 of your life beyond your home/family/interests --- I love how you found a 'nudge from another' to help you refocus your energy.
I have hope that if I return to a formal job I will be better as I am wiser now. The program has given me a whole new set of tools to manage my life and expectations. Yay for you Bethany and keep working it - it sure looks good on you!!!
(((Hugs)))
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Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene
