I must admit, that occasionally at work I can have a bad attitude. Especially if I am tired or overwhelmed. Most days I’m busy from the minute I arrive at 7:25 until the end of the school day (3:00) or even the end of my work day (which varies from 5-6:00.) This week, I was grading papers while eating, waiting for teacher’s meeting (during my lunch break.) That’s when that lie slipped out of my mouth even if it was in jest. “I could have been anything, and I chose this.”
But the truth is, that’s a lie. The truth is that I had the intelligence and skill set to be a vast number of different things, but not everything. I could not be anything. My academic mind has limits that prevented me from certain fields. Trust me, I would not make a competent nuclear physicist. I would not make a good book editor. You definitely wouldn’t want me doing surgery on you. My artistic/musical skill, athletic ability, and personality traits eliminated many other options. (Concert violinist, pro-athlete, and infantry solider to name a few.) My lack of commitment knocked out a whole other set of options (doctorate degree…not feeling it), as did my financial limitations. But still, I had a lot of viable options.
So why did I pick the job I currently have? Because I really had no choice.
I picked this career because It’s who I am. I teach. Sure, people fulfill that desire in a number of different ways from drill sergeant to corporate trainer, but my blend of personality traits, my experiences, and my place in life has perfectly led me to this place. And I am super grateful for that, even in the moments when I forget to be grateful.
I don’t think your job is like a soul mate, where you have only one possible perfect career or job that you need to find, but I do think we are made differently in such a way that certain jobs fit us better.
My career line may not be the most glamorous or well respected. My pay scale probably doesn’t reflect master’s degree education in the way it might in other fields. But who said everything should be equal.
Here’s what I think. Find the career that fits you, not the one you think you are suppose to have. Spend your days being yourself. Don’t believe the lie that if you love your job, you won’t work a day in your life. Believe me, I work. I work hard. But my job is part of fulfilling the calling I believe God has on my life, and that makes it worthy work.
Not feeling like you’re really living the dream? Here are some places to start. I learned about a few of these while in graduate school getting my master’s in counseling.
This might also be good, but I haven’t tried this specifically. I have taken several others. I always hate how I always come out as having the gift of administration, and I’m trying to keep denying that about myself.
Spiritual Gifts Survey
