Last week, I shared my personal story in which I began my career as a disillusioned and uninspired Accountant. Do you feel stuck in a lackluster career?
What almost kept me at a job I had very little interest in? My sweet loving mom’s approval. I didn’t want to disappoint her. After all, she had worked hard to help make my degree and college experience a reality.
Why do we stay in a job that doesn’t fulfill us? Seeking other’s approval.
Can you guess what I did next? I blamed my mom for the lack of joy in my job. Does this ring a bell?
When we are not true to ourselves, our heart and gut knows. They ping us. We feel a void–and it’s easier to deflect the responsibility of this resentment and bitterness on to them. Sometimes we are not even conscious that we are doing this blame game. I certainly wasn’t until many years later.
Once we become conscious of this need for approval, the way to heal it, is to accept responsibility for our own choices.
My mom didn’t force me to get a college degree. I chose to enroll and major in accounting. Perhaps my parents would have cut off my college funding if I changed majors. I didn’t have the courage to take on that challenge. If they did cut the funding, I could have investigated other financial doors to pursue a psychology degree. I chose not to. That’s on me–not my mom.
What if each of us have a calling that only we can fulfill? I do believe in God, and whether you prefer to call it the divine or the universe doesn’t matter to me. We are here for a significant reason–to be ourselves. That means we are each endowed with our own unique set of gifts and attributes. If we are not true to ourselves, our soul knows.
Imagine what the world would be like if we each honored our desires and natural talents. I envision we would be more joyful, responsible, kinder and productive souls. What a joyful vision that is.
Don’t sell out your passion to fit somebody else’s agenda for you. If you believe this is virtuous, please reconsider.
I’ll be discussing another reason we choose to stay in a job we have no passion for next week.
