18 Mar 2015 | News

THE SECRET TO LOVING YOUR WORK

We all get up each week day morning, shower, get dressed, have breakfast and head off to work to earn a living – maybe not all in the same order, but something like this scenario!

However, how many of us really love what we do, and portray how we feel about our chosen career in a way other than “Hi my name is Janis and I sell Insurance?”

When I meet someone new I try to impart my passion for helping others in such a way that it has drawn me to the Personal Insurance Industry and everyday feel as though I make a difference and really help people. I don’t sell insurance, I help secure the family unit in times of adversity.

I came across this story by Geoff Ables on ‘THE SECRET TO LOVING YOUR WORK’ and found it really captured my everyday life. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I have…

A man walked up to a construction site where a number of people were working diligently. He walked up to one worker and asked what he was doing.

“I’m laying bricks,” was the response.

He walked up to a second and asked the same question.

“I’m building a wall,” came the matter-of-fact reply.

When he asked a third man what he was doing, the man paused, looked up to the sky as if focusing on a distant future and replied,

“I am building a magnificent cathedral, where thousands will come over hundreds of years to seek the truth, to celebrate new life, to be cared for when mourning losses, and to joyfully join in marriage.”

Apparently this story has been shared for over 300 years.

Two of the workers were just that – workers. They toiled away, earning a pay check. They hated Mondays. They counted the hours to the end of the day. They counted the days to the end of each week. They lived for their vacations.

One worker was much more than just a worker. He viewed his work as “living waters” that would flow out of his hands and enrich lives for many years to come. He may have still enjoyed his time away from work just as the others did. But his workdays raced by as he contemplated the impact that his work would have.

And there was only one difference between the last worker and the first two: Perspective.

No matter how messy, how boring, how confrontational, how manual … virtually all work creates ripples that impact dozens, hundreds, thousands, or millions of others. It creates jobs. It saves lives. It supports others and enables them to do what they are best at. It supports a team of other people. It changes one mind or one heart – that may later touch many others. It creates wealth (that gets spent in ways that does more of the same).

Hate your job? Yes, it’s possible that you’re in the wrong job. But take the time to visualize what it is that you’re really building. Who it is that you’re really impacting. Use those monotonous hours to contemplate that for the next 30 days. See if your work changes as a result.

What cathedral is your work building?

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