Making Work
If you work full time do you realize that more than 1/3 of your
day revolves around
work? Consider the time you spend preparing for
work, traveling to and from work, and actually at work. That’s a lot of
time -too much time in my opinion if it is all about just a paycheck.
There are periods of time in almost everyone’s career where we work to
live. But wouldn’t life be a whole lot more meaningful if you could
enjoy the work you get paid to do? I know that sounds like wanting to
have your cake and eat it too, right? Well, when it comes to work, I am
a firm believer that it is absolutely possible to have your cake and
eat it tooas long as you are sure you’ve got the right cake!
Is the cake you are eating (your job) overdone, short on sugar, or
just plain nauseating? If you are trapped in a dead end job, living
from paycheck to paycheck, and are living without a passion for your
day to day grind, you probably don’t want to eat it or have it. In
fact, you would be just fine tossing the whole thing in the trash.
Before you quit or take any other drastic measures, answer this
question: Whose cake are you eating?
This is the question I had to ask myself, nine months after I
started a new position at a global software company. In accepting the
position I got a raise, a better title, more responsibility and a
seemingly better work environment a pretty sweet cake, right? Well
the first bite (mostly frosting) was quite tasty. But as I took one
bite after another, it became quite apparent that the cake was well,
half baked: super long hours, an understaffed team, and projects with
unbelievable scope creep, and critical decisions that changed on a
weekly basis.
The realization that this was not the cake I wanted to eat at first
evoked a sense of disappointment. As the haze of dissatisfaction began
to dissipate, it slowly dawned on me that I could bake my own cake. If
you have found yourself in a similar situation I offer you the same
challenge: What if you could have and eat a better cake? A cake you
created so you know it’s going to be good.
When you bake your own cake, you choose your own ingredients and
ultimately the outcome. In other words you take control of what you get
to have and eat. You can make the cake as sweet and moist as you want.
And you also control if it comes out burnt or just right. So what’s a
working single mom to do? Here are five steps that help you take
control and start baking your own cake:
options? Get to your nearest library, bookstore, or job board fast and
start exploring. Part of what keeps you feeling trapped is that you
don’t know what escape hatches there are.
folks at work you associate with are negative, not only will they drain
you emotionally they could be hampering you professionally. Your boss
has probably heard the saying,
Great article. Love the cake analogy. We don’t have to settle for things that make us miserable, even if they pay the bills.
I walked away from a thriving clinical pediatric practice because it was draining me physically, mentally, and emotionally. At the time I didn’t have a career plan and still had LOTS of student loans to repay. The one plan I did have was to start enjoying my life and to make a living doing something that was going to nourish me instead of deplete me. I had no idea, however, what that would look like.
At the time most people thought I was crazy! That was before so many primary care physicians began leaving medicine for the same reasons I did. Eventually many of my colleagues started to ask me “How did I get out?”, as though I had a secret plan for getting out of prison (smile)!
We deserve better and can do better. We are more powerful than we think. One of my favorite quotations is Marianne Williamson’s “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
Thanks for this wonderful article. I’m sure it will encourage many women to start thinking about what kind of “cake” they really want.
Be well,
Donna Hamilton, MD
http://www.ManifestExcellence.com
Great article!! I loved how Tai Goodwin empowers women to visualize their life the way they want, instead of feeling limited in their current position. So often women turn themselves into a pretzel trying to make a current career work for themselves, when it’s clear their soul is crying out for something more. We put so much value in our current career because our money is tied to it, but the real money comes from your authentic gifts.
If you are reading this article, you have clearly positioned yourself to succeed. The Diva Toolbox is full of women who can help you take your skills, your passions, and your dreams and help you build a successful business.
Visualization is key!! By just taking some time for yourself and imagining what your life would look like/feel like inspired, you will be giving your spirit a platform to show you the way!!
We are all here to support your journey!
~Caroline Lockhart
Feminine Brilliance Awakened
You know it is funny – I just approved your comment without reading it first – just because I knew I didnt have to worry about anything you wrote and then I just read it and you are 100% right.
If all of you dont know Tai – you should – she is an amazing woman! She has unique ideas – like launching while working – and she can really help you visualize where you want to be – one of my favs for sure who are great members of the Diva Toolbox!