A national survey reported that 80 percent of America’s workforce is not working in their dream jobs. In fact, most people dislike their jobs.
Often, we find ourselves looking forward to Friday instead of Monday. And while we’re paid by the hour, the real difference in how we feel about and perform at our jobs comes from the value we bring to that hour.
Clarify Your “Why”
In order to focus more on the value of our work rather than the work itself, we must ask ourselves, “How do I make myself more valuable, more irreplaceable, to my personal relationships and professional organization? What must I learn today that will make me more qualified to be a better partner, parent, coach, entrepreneur, leader, manager, teammate, co-worker, neighbor, or friend?”
The answer is simple: clarify your “why.”
Believing that we deserve the best kinds of love and personal intimacy, friendships, job opportunities, income, vacations, and lifestyle brings those desires into our lives.
So why is it that so many never achieve this level of success, significance, and enduring happiness? Marianne Williamson explained it best when she said:
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate but that we are powerful beyond measure. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?”
Who are you not to be?
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
Change Your Internal “Set Point”
Achieving this powerful transformation comes when we change or reset our personal “thermostat.”
A thermostat works by sensing the difference between the actual outside temperature and the desired temperature. It switches heating and cooling devices on and off to maintain that desired temperature.
In terms of our human thermostat and set point, it is always dialed to the level of our self-esteem, sense of self-worth, and degree of personal development.
For example, how many times have we seen someone win 100 million dollars in the lottery only to be flat broke three years later?
How many people do we know who go on a crazy diet and lose 50 pounds or more, but six months later they have gained all the weight back and then some?
Why is this?
It is simply because of their personal thermostat. No matter what happens on the outside with money or our weight, or even our relationships, our internal thermostat is always going to try and match our outside world to our internal set point. To find more joy and fulfillment in our lives, or our “outside world,” we must become more on the inside.
For us to enjoy the things we want, we must first reset our thermostat to expect more, learn more, and be more so that we are empowered and equipped to do more!
Focus on Solutions, Not Symptoms
As we work to create a society that is unconditionally loving and nonjudgmental—where diversity, equity, inclusion, mutual respect, and support are the norm instead of the exception—we must keep our focus on the solution, not the symptoms. We must focus on what we can do in the present and the future, not dwell on the past.
In my experience, the ones who find reason to complain are usually those who have not dedicated themselves to becoming better today than they were yesterday, hoping instead that someone else will do it for them.
French philosopher Pascal explained it this way:
“Too many live their lives hoping to be happy, but because they only hope, they never really are.”
It’s like waiting to get invited to the prom but never taking the time to learn how to dance!
Decide today what you will do to reset your thermostat and begin to make yourself more valuable to those in your personal life, organizations, community, country, and the world. And if you need inspiration, look no further than the words my dear friend Regie Hamm, who wrote the hit song “The Time of My Life” for American Idol champion David Cook:
And I’ll taste every moment and live it out loud
I know this is the time, this is the time
To be more than a name or a face in the crowd
I know this is the time, this is the time of my life.
To learn more, follow @danclarkspeak on Facebook and Instagram or visit danclark.com.
Dan Clark is a Hall of Fame speaker and The New York Times best-selling author of The Art of Significance.
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