Work Is A Four-Letter Word
by Eileen McDargh
I can hear the jokes already and most of them are not politically
correct. Let me throw out a word that we often don't attach to work
and yet I think it is a word of redemption, of contribution, of
achievement, of community, and ultimately, of legacy.
Here it is: LOVE.
Kahil Gibran proclaimed, "Work is love made visible."
I would further clarify his position by insisting that a job is
what you do for a paycheck. Work is what you do for a life. It
is that energizing, all-encompassing activity that allows you to
bring skills to bear in ways that are satisfying beyond a pay period.
It is that activity that saves you from being a faceless number
in a mechanistic wheel-hence it holds redemptive powers. It is
that activity which makes a contribution to a larger world order.
It is that activity from which you sense a measure of accomplishment
and achievement. It excites you. It gives you joy. It binds you
to a community of people who are stakeholders in what you do. Ultimately,
it has a ripple effect and the potency of a legacy for those who
follow.
"Ah come on!," you insist. "How about a garbage collector?
A waiter? A store clerk? Who is going to love those jobs?"
Great question. And at face value, it seems that not every employment
opportunity has such grand potential. Just take the money, leave
it as soon as you can for greener pastures. Screw those miserable
bosses. Thumb your nose at the customer.
And tomorrow you die.
That's it. Plain and simple. While you are looking for the dream
vocation, the better work environment, the nicer boss, reality can
step in and your one moment on the Planet is gone forever. It's
a reality made even MORE real by current events.
There's an uneasy shift that has taken us by storm and rattled our
plod-along workaday world. Many are paralyzed by the insecurity
of the times. The terror of 9-11 and the subsequent global aggressiveness
pushed us over the edge. With a wobbly U.S. economy, unsettled change
continues to bombard us. Mega- mergers boggle the mind with the
endless zeros streaming behind a behemoth's financial size. We gasp
at the number of employees who are cast off from a consolidated
giant. We see plant closures and layoffs in everything from clothing
manufacturing to banking. Overnight web companies turn almost under-age
youth into millionaires and executives at age 40 are left scratching
their heads. Then, dot.coms fail, leaving bewildered employees in
the rubble. Wall Street meltdown, corporate greed, and icon-like
presidents who crash as fallen idols make daily headlines.
Despite statistics that indicate employment is coming back, there's
pain and inaccuracy behind these cold numbers. We are working more
but feeling as if we're earning less and living in time poverty.
Affluenza is an all too common word. The consistent notion that
work should be a 24/7 event is being challenged by a rising number
of strident voices. And with those voices comes a cry for the most
urgent answer to sustainable success: finding meaningful work that
makes an impact and lets us live in the bargain. Answer that plea
and we'll unleash a productive and creative power akin to a tsunami.
In short we want to LOVE what we do, who we do it for and who we
do it with AND love the life we create outside that work. That's
the essence- the Holy Grail-the mysterious work/life balance piece.
Finding that Holy Grail is done by parallel processing, working
on two tracks. The first track is to make work "work"
for you in your current situation.
Wouldn't it make more sense to transform wherever you find yourself-even
while continuing to search-so that if and when you leave, there's
a faint footprint of achievement, community, contribution and yes,
even the memory of a beneficial interaction. Such a transformation
allows you to love yourself in the process. It keeps bridges from
burning and strengthens a network of relationships that one day
you might call upon.
The critical question becomes: how do you turn a "job' into
a "work"-into something that gives you more than a paycheck?
No, you might not be able to alter the corporate strategic plan,
paint the garbage truck peppermint pink or change a boss from a
toad to a prince. But, there are specific action items you can take
within your sphere of influence. Too often, we expect management
to lead us in career directions, to provide us with recognition,
to make "it" a better place. It's just like a marriage:
there's responsibility on both sides. Using the tools offered by
Bev Kaye and Sharon Jordan Evans in Love it. Don't Leave It (available
at major bookstores), you'll find a literal alphabet soup of specific
action steps to help you take ownership for your life at work
Don't wait. Time is too precious to squander. You CAN fall in
love again.
© Eileen McDargh, McDargh Communications. All rights reserved. You may reprint this article so long as it remains intact with the byline and if all links are made live.
Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter. Her latest book is Gifts from the Mountain-Simple Truths for Life's Complexities. Her other books include Talk Ain't
Cheap...It's Priceless and Work for a Living and Still Be Free to Live, one of the first books to address the notion of balance and authentic work. A 59 year-old grandmother, she recently returned from climbing among the highest mountains in the world. Find out more about this compelling
and effective professional speaker and join her free newsletter by visiting http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.
McDargh
Communications
(949) 496-8640
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
www.EileenMcDargh.com
© 2008 McDargh Communications, All rights
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