For many who are stuck in “unchosen” careers, finding fulfilment can seem a far-fetched goal. If you’re not personally interested in the type of job you do, you may look at it merely as a job that is just better than unemployment. With that perspective, getting to enjoy your job can become even more elusive.
This is not a healthy situation, however. It is tough for anyone to spend eight hours a day, at least, doing something that doesn’t provide some sort of personal satisfaction. In the long term, these can chip away at your energy and enthusiasm for your career. It even may undermine your self-esteem and your perception of your skills.
What’s the alternative? Because you probably don’t have many options to change your job, you should try to find areas of your job that bring fulfilment. This requires creative thinking and getting down to the basics of what you enjoy as a person. In many cases, it also may require asking your supervisor or manager for a different scope of work that better suits your aspirations.
Here are a few points to keep in mind.
* What do you want to do?
You need to understand what you actually want to do and why. For example, you’re working as a receptionist but your lifetime dream was to be a musician, there may be little there that seems to be fulfilling. But if you get down into the essence of your goal — that is perhaps your appreciation of fine arts, you may be able to incorporate some of that in your daily work tasks in a way that makes your role more tolerable.
Similarly, a person who wishes to be in a job where helping others is at the heart of the tasks may find fulfilment in adding some charity or volunteer work to the daily grind. Many businesses appreciate employees who come up with innovative ideas that go beyond their immediate job tasks. So do share your passion because it may hit a corporate goal and become a mutual interest.
* Can you bridge the gap?
It isn’t always easy to bridge the gap between your passion and your job, however. Many careers take a long, winding path and end up somewhere that is completely different from where they were intended. If that is the case, you may find that the gap is too wide to bridge.
In this case, your option will be look for a new job that offers an opportunity to incorporate some of the activities that fulfil your passion even if it doesn’t completely fall within your dream field.
* Share your passion
If you’ve a good rapport with your manager, explain how you feel about the need to enjoy your work. Package that in a positive tone of someone who is constructively looking for a change of direction without quitting. Your manager or supervisor may be flexible to think for job duties that help you become more satisfied.
Employers are typically willing to get out of their way to ensure that a valuable employee is fulfilled to retain this person. Be careful, however, this is a thin line to walk and you must be sure that your manager is open-minded and won’t misinterpret your talk as a sign of dissatisfaction with the workplace.
* Introduce parallel efforts
In many cases, whatever you do, it may still remain hard for you to make your career provide the sort of fulfilment that you’re looking for. In this case, you still need to take action and consider ways to ensure that your life is not an endless rat race.
To do so, define your passion and make time for them. Whatever your needs are, there will be ways to express them with like-minded professionals — even if you’re not one of these professionals.
Are you a gifted writer? Start a blog, join writing forums or do some freelance writing on the side. Wanted to be a veterinarian? Take a volunteer role or join an animal-rescue society.
These efforts have short-terms benefit — that is making you fulfilled and able to cope with the reality of working in an unenjoyable job. On the long run, these efforts also may pay off by positioning you for an entry job or some volunteer opportunity in the area of your dreams.
— Rania Oteify, a former Gulf News Business Features Editor, is a Seattle-based editor.
