I was coming by train to Amsterdam on Saturday night. I let myself observe the conductor. He attracted my attention because he had the joy inside him and it was evident that his work was fun for him. By approaching each of the passengers, he distracted them from the trance of looking at a smartphone or sad eyes, stuck somewhere in the view outside…. While checking our tickets, he made jokes. That very night was an evening of Museum night in Amsterdam. He joked over lady saying that she is going there: Yeah yeah… You will see one museum and later you skip for Winkelen (so-called shopping In Dutch). With each taken step, conductor walked through the train. He welcomed people with kindness and small chat, so this trip passed in a pleasant mood until the final stop on Amsterdam Central.
Ahead of me was still coming a wonderful evening, but after this route I was in even better mood. After that, I started to realizing myself that most of the people I meet here, are carrying out their work with joy. Postman, who always asks how are my kids; cashier, with a smile that speaks to you in the rainiest day; or co-worker who always has some stupid joke up his sleeve.
By following the paths of Amsterdam, I asked questions. Do we have achieved tremendous success, to do our job with a smile? Whether it depends on the type of work and what monotony it accompanies, how do we approach it? Ain’t I control unit of my life and I am responsible for the level of joy involved in my work? Is it up to me whether I will be a happy mother? That I will be referring to my children calmly and respectfully, or how the wind blows, so my mood will affect my behavior?Or I will just wait for this wind to tell me which direction she wants to blow.
And then I reminded myself beginnings of returning to the work after maternity break. I felt again excited to get back to work, but on the other hand, I was overwhelmed. The idea that it was again the same thing, was heavy. For the first months I did not have a joy of going to work. For me, the conviction was only one: it’s not for me, maybe I should be making something different… Until I discovered the secret of ,so called: Building a house on the rock.
Building something on the strong ground will bring the most precious effect for the future. If you are somewhere at a crossroads and do not know the truth of what is your vocation yet, you have to try to build a strong foundation in yourself. First of all, learn to be a friend to yourself and ask yourself: What do I want? What do I like to do? What makes me happy at work? And listen to yourself. It can take a little time, but once you answer this important questions, you will be able to ask yourself another: Do I really want to change job, or just something within me? What do I like in my current work? How could I move what I like to do in my life, to my profession life?
Let me clarify one thing. If you feel that you no longer want to deal with what you are doing now and you have a job burnout, you will surely need a holiday… A LONG ONE.
But abstracting from the extreme case of “burn out”, finding the strength and positive side of your work can be extremely helpful. You may find that your dream job is the one you are doing, but you need to change the way you see it and do :). I think transferring my experience and modifying our work is also an extremely important issue. Why? Therefore, because, when a man feels he stands in place and does not develop, he can quickly feel burned out. That’s why continuing to educate on your profession, modify and challenge yourself, makes our work more than slating the digits into system or checking a ticket.
You say: But for me, nothing can be done anymore. Well, I can tell you, Yes it can be. I can give you an example of my colleague from work. One day she came in a beautiful shirt to work fasted from the top down on the buttons. You know what was the most interesting? That she dressed her shirts backwards, cos she liked the blouse, but the buttons on the front did not match her overall styling.. I Love it!
Do you understand what I want to tell you? Maybe sometimes it is worth doing something “back on the front” and see what comes out? Maybe your work could be not so boring? Check it out. You’ll again start to smile every day , infecting people around with your positive energy.
I greet you! K.