"What do I want to have, be, and see in my lifetime?"
"How do I define myself outside of my job?"
"Hi! My name is . And I'm a (insert 9-to-5 job title here)."
Phone for you. It's your true calling.
(Wow. That was cheesy. But so is living on stale rat-race-issued cheese.)
So many of us spend more than half of our waking hours, doing something they we aren't completely enthusiastic about. That doesn't excite us when we get out of bed in the morning.
Don't get me wrong. A lot of people love and enjoy their jobs. But this is about questioning what we have designed our lives to revolve around.
If you didn't have to work 40 (or 50 or 60 or 70) hours a week doing what you currently do, how would you spend your time every day?
Some call this "your life passion".
Others call it the "finding your true calling".
On a less heavy note, it might just be a "things to do/be/see in my lifetime" list!
Regardless of what it's called, too many of us aren't doing it. Typically because we're so busy, we don't have time for dreaming and impractical wishful thinking. :(
But every now and again, we hear or read of someone who is doing it. Someone who has somehow found a way to support a non 9-to-5 lifestyle. "THAT LUCKY SO-AND-SO... good for them. Wish I could do that." And then we go back to the grindstone. Not a moment to be wasted.
Day-to-day life for most people is probably not what they would be doing, if they had a choice. That is, if they were able to make a good living in a fashion that afforded them more time. Most people would probably find, and pursue, their true calling. If they only had the time, and financial freedom.
These are the kind of frustrations that started me on the quest, many years ago, to find the perfect job.
After several bosses, several jobs, several frustrating work environments, I realized that I just did not belong here. All of my jobs so far had been defined on someone else's terms.
Someone else was deciding:
Who I should defer to (various bosses that I have been assigned to)
What I spend my talents on (this project or that, this report or that, this emergency of the day or that)
When I should work (9-to-6... or 7..., Monday through Friday..., and sometimes weekends.)
Where I should be at most times of the day (in the office, behind a desk, trapped in a cubicle)
How I should develop myself (focusing on my weaknesses, rather than harnessing my strengths)
WHY I should do all this (the fear of not being able to support my family and lifestyle)
So much for a true calling. This is more like indebted servitude! Okay - maybe not quite... but it doesn't exactly fill me full of purpose, either. But that's just me.
But it's not the norm only at the companies that I worked for. society & culture actively encourage, almost enforce, the giving of our best selves, over to an employer.
From a young age, most of our education is geared toward making us great employees. No true calling, here.
When we get into our professional careers, we all get up in the morning, and go to a job that though we may be proficient at, we do not care much about. No true calling here, either.
We get back home in the evening, a little tired, maybe a little cranky, and at that point try to spend some quality time with the ones we love.
Before going to bed exhausted, only to do it again the next day.
"The job gets the best of you, the family gets the rest of you.
(Hm... that rhymed. I should keep that...)
"BUT, IT'S NOT THAT BAD!! THERE'S ALWAYS..."
1. TGIF - Thank Goodness It's Friday! "I can actually live my own life for a day or two."
(But don't forget chores, the honey-do list, and rest, which will eat up a lot of your weekend.)
2. Vacation time! "I can actually spend a few quality days with my family! Or take that nice trip to (fill in the blank)."
(Don't you wish you had more vacation time?)
3. Retirement "It's taken 30 years, but I've finally finished paying my dues, and I can live on my own terms! Now to get to those life goals..."
(But you've lost the most precious resource... TIME.)
Some silver lining.
THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY!!!! (pulling hair out!)
There has to be a true calling, somewhere in your life, no matter how much of a pipe dream it has become.
Questions & Actions:
Here are two interesting ways to start to get at that true calling, that buried cheese. These are Questions and Actions. Answer these items as part of your Rat Race Escape Plan:
1. What is my primary aim?
“Who do I want to be?”
“How do I wish my life to be on a daily basis?”
"What would I like to be doing 1, 2, and 5 years from now? What about 10 years from now?
I'm attending an event 10 years from now, honoring me. What will they be honoring me for?
2. Setting dreamlines:
There is a simply BRILLIANT book out right now, titled: "The 4 Hour Work Week", by Tim Ferriss. I encourage you to read it for a number of reasons. One of those, it Tim's concept of setting dream lines. Dream lines are differentiated from time lines as such -
Three things that I would like to DO in the next 3 months
Three things that I would like to BE in the next 3 months
Three things that I would like to SEE in the next 3 months
Of those 9 items above, pick 3 of the 9 that excite and motivate you the most. Those are your dream lines for the next 3 months.
Be sure to make these dreamlines unrealistic - as in, if you had no limit on time or energy... or money... what would you do/be/see? Reason being, realistic goals don't motivate you beyond significant obstacles.
Also have a short timeline. No 3 or 5 or 10 year goals here.1-month, maybe 3-months. Reason being, longer time lines allow us to relax. To postpone.
(Highly recommended movie on finding your true calling - Ratatouille.)
For those who would like to explore further, read on.
Dreamlines are different from TimeLines. According to Tim Ferriss' "4 Hour Work Week", Dreamlines are setting aggressive (unrealistic) timelines against your dreams. For a moment, suspend your limitations from money and time.
What 3 things would you want to Have, Do, or Be in the next 3 months?
