Rabbit Write

What is your real work?  How would you define it if you had to?

Career fulfillment is one of those things we are all supposed to have. Along with perfect families and relationships, stellar sex lives, undying self-love and all of that other stuff that takes a ton of work and I’m not that anyone has one-hundred percent.

In reality it comes as no surprise that many people loathe their jobs. Whether they are drained by them, bored to tears by them or just don’t feel comfortable in them. The vicious cycle seems to be, wake up go to job that you hate, survive, come home get drunk, shower and repeat.

“Keep your day job and tell the truth about the rest of your time”- Barbara Sher

When I was working as an administrative assistant and someone would ask me what I did, I answered that I was…an administrative assistant. Ned was always disappointed when I said this, “that is not all you are,” he would say. Ned’s disappointment didn’t come because there is anything wrong with being an admin assistant or because he was embarrassed of my position, but because I was not being honest about my real work.

Stating your real work when someone asks “what do you do” takes a ton of courage. On the surface I would worry that it would sound pretensions to say “I’m a writer” or that I wasn’t writing enough to justify it. But beneath that, I was scared and swimming in low self esteem…I didn’t think my work was worth stating. Somehow  my work was not real enough or worthy enough. In order to state your real work, you have to claim it. You have to give yourself permission to call yourself a ____________.

This would be a big hurdle… but before that comes recognition of success, I had also just jumped another big hurdle. I had been “in the moment” enough to figure out that there was a problem.

Being present to your day and your experiences is an important key in self work and self awareness. Out in the workforce many people are simply not there, they are part of the day-sleeping masses. Do you feel irritated when asked questions during the day, do loud noises or sudden change on your commute bother you? You just may be a day-sleeper. After reading this you may start spotting these 9-5 zombies everywhere, a bus driver who can’t hear your question, your irritable boss, anyone at the post office. Day-sleeping is something of an epidemic.

It is comfortable to drift into day-sleeping at less than perfect jobs…but you will not find your true work this way. Finding and going after our true work takes being present, it takes courage, passion and excitement.

You can begin your true work now, the work that you dream of — that you deserve.

But…what is your true work?

According to the writer Sark, everything you do contributes to your true work. Your stumbles, your attempts, your wrong-paths and your successes…they all gives clues to what your true work is.

Finding your real work is a long journey, an adventure that you must choose to go on. For many, our life’s work just happens to us…but to find our true work we must often go after it, break out of the box, change people’s minds and expectations.

For me it meant leaving my assistant job so I could pursue a writing career. Staying at that position was simply not an option for me. Afterward, I was unemployed for months that felt like years. Unemployment depression is a dangerous quicksand, but I knew that not working was not an option. Sometimes it is good to remind yourself of that. Also in the beginning, it is okay if you aren’t getting paid for your real work, keep working towards making it your money-maker.

I am still searching for what my true work is, but I am also actively creating it.

Here are some tips to get your compass headed toward the right path.

1. Describe your Inner Child’s work. Little Rabbit is an artist, writer and story-teller, dancer, philosopher, care-giver and healer
2. Use this life goals exercise, try tweaking it to more job specific goals.
3. Write down every job you could possibly see yourself having. Give yourself a lot of time to complete this task. It is a fantasy list so write as though anything is an option, as if you could go back to school for anything.
4. Remember, there is room for everyone to do their true work
5. Write down do-able goals, movements you will make toward your true work. Re-visit this list and evaluate it from time to time.
6. Ask a close friend to describe your real work for you in writing.
7. If I’m your interviewer and ask, “what is your real work?” what is your answer?
8. Explore your natural strengths. Interview people close to you about your strengths. Try creating a list of all of your strengths, you can also think of this as “reasons why you’d be a good employee”, which also comes in handy while interviewing.
9. Explore how you feel in your current job situation. Check in with yourself, notice when you feel bored or stressed and explore that.
10. What is your true work? Keep writing down answers to this question until you find one that moves you.
11. At the end of each day or each week, ask yourself, “what did I do to reach my goals?”
12. Go to professional networking events or meet-ups in the field of your true work
13. Make a list of every job you’ve held and accomplishment you’ve had. Looking through that list you may find clues to your true work…also this helps for resume-crafting.

Don’t give up!

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Related posts:

1. Throw those resolutions out! (Making goals that work)
2. Finding Spirituality in Atheism
3. Ask Rabbit: Finding a Balance in your Dating Personality
4. The Beauty of Personal Freedom (Or Why I don’t talk to my Parents)
5. Being in a Relationship…With Yourself